A Metamorphosis
by Mikauzoran
Summary: Amuro had given up everything for his country, for The Mission—friends, a future, desires, freedom, ambitions…even his own identity. For the success of The Mission, he isolated himself, kept secrets, and never let others in. He'd forfeited even his ability to love. At least, he'd thought so. But Enomoto Azusa was changing all that.
1. The Shoes and the Storm

Mikau: Hello everyone! Thank you so, so much for taking a look at this! I've got another new pairing for you that I hope you enjoy. I call it AmuAzu! Cute, right? I'm actually having a lot of fun with my interpretations of Amuro and Azusa, so I hope you like them too. I want to thank Laurel Wreath for introducing me to the pairing. Oh! And before we get started: _**WARNING:**_ Obviously if you don't know about Amuro's multiple identities, this will be spoilery, but not really more than the Amuro character tag on this site is. I swear, ff dot net. That and the Akai one got me before I was caught up on the anime, and…it really didn't bother me too much. But I digress. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it and had such a big cast, I would be doing special arcs for all of my favorite characters like crazy…and it would be another fifty years before the Organization ever got around to being defeated.

….

Chapter One: The Shoes and the Storm

Alarm clocks in his apartment had a high mortality rate.

Every morning without fail, the device jarred him awake, and his first instinct was to grab the gun from under his pillow and defend himself from whatever assassin had finally come for him…whether that was someone from the Organization or someone against the Organization.

He'd moved the daily nuisance across the room for its own safety—it was easier to destroy it without thinking if it was within arms' reach. Generally he took a split second to confirm his target before actually pulling the trigger, so the clock was safer on the desk than the nightstand.

The distance, unfortunately, served to compound the annoyance that the alarm clock brought to his life. In order to turn it off, he had to get out from under the nice, warm, soft covers and actually cross the room to turn it off. And he had to do this quickly so as not to bother the neighbors since the alarm was set for three in the morning.

Back when the clock was on the nightstand, he could throw it against a wall and go back to sleep without ever having to leave his cozy bed. Sometimes he thought it was worth having to buy a new alarm clock every few days.

But I digress.

This morning was like all the rest. The alarm clock on the desk did not end up with a bullet in it, and he got up and proceeded to do his sit-ups, push-ups, planks, pull-ups, and even some lunges and squats for kicks. He debated only doing one hundred of each—he was feeling sluggish this morning—but then decided to go ahead and do the full routine. If he muscled through it, maybe he'd start feeling better.

No such luck.

Halfway through the yoga portion of his morning workout, the haze started to lift as he balanced in Firefly.

At four thirty he hopped in the shower and spent a full five minutes just standing there, letting the steam rise around him, the heat envelope him as the water droplets pounded on his back.

And then he had to wipe the fog off of the mirror as he styled his hair and smiled at himself.

" _Hello! I'm Amuro Toru—your friendly neighborhood barista and private eye!"_

His cheerful grin morphed into a rakish smirk, and he pointed his finger in the shape of a gun at his reflection.

" _The name's Bond. James Bond—secret agent."_

The playboy smile turned maniacal as a not quite sane look came into his eyes.

" _They call me Bourbon…and you're going to die."_

Once he had cycled through his range of multiple personas, his expression went back to carefully blank, and he studied his face in the mirror. Somehow it didn't seem like his own anymore. None of the three men he had portrayed felt like "him", his true self. He'd spent so much time working undercover, living in another person's skin that…he didn't quite know who "he" was anymore.

"I'm…" he whispered, reaching out to touch his cheek in the glass.

 _Fake._

He frowned, nibbling subconsciously at his lip.

"…lonely." He let the word escape with a sigh.

Amuro Toru…or Furuya Rei—whatever his name was; it was hard to remember the real one among all of the aliases—had to give up all of his connections when he'd accepted his most dangerous undercover mission yet. To keep the people he loved safe, he had to keep them at arms' length. He'd cut ties with friends, leaving the people he cared about behind…letting go of that piece of himself, giving it up for the greater good. He was a soldier who had pledged his life to his country. He'd sacrificed everything, the things that made him _him_ , in service to Japan.

Now wasn't the time to be having regrets.

He was lonely? So what? Wouldn't it be worse to get close to someone only to lose them?

He winced at the memory of his mentor and friend.

Yes. It would be just like when Scotch was killed…only worse. If he got close to someone and they got killed because of that, it would be _his_ fault…and he would have to go on knowing that, carrying that weight on his shoulders…until it sank him.

He closed his eyes and shook his head.

He had work. He was opening up the shop today. Focus. Now was not the time to be falling apart. His job—his _real_ job, his mission—was far more important than the pangs of loneliness he was feeling right now. He needed to put his selfishness aside and concentrate. Because people had died. Innocents were dying. More would die in the future unless he got himself together and dismantled this Organization with his own hands.

He opened his eyes, and Amuro Toru smiled back at him in the mirror.

…

"Don't you think Amuro-niichan is really attractive?" Ayumi cooed precociously to Azusa with the aim of making one Edogawa Conan jealous.

She only succeeded in riling up Mitsuhiko and Genta, disturbing the object of her affections, and making the poor waitress blush and fumble her tray.

Three milkshakes—strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate—as well as an iced coffee were sent crashing to the floor, splattering everywhere, ruining Azusa's cute new pair of shoes—the first pair she'd splurged on in a _long_ time—and scattering jagged shards of glass all over the floor.

And now Azusa had a dilemma: she couldn't very well go get supplies to clean up the mess what with milkshake all over her shoes—it would track up the floor behind her—but she couldn't really take off the shoes to go get the cleaning supplies either because of the glass littering the floor.

Thankfully, Conan-kun came to her rescue. "Just stay there, Azusa-neechan," he instructed kindly as he hopped down from his chair. He threw a "You guys stay put so you don't step in the glass" over his shoulder at his compatriots as he hustled towards the door in the back leading to the kitchen.

"Amuro-san!" he called. "Azusa-neechan needs your help cleaning up a wet glass spill! Hurry!"

Sure enough, Amuro dropped what he was doing to dutifully lend his coworker a hand with that Prince Charming smile of his, never begrudging her clumsiness for a moment.

And his kindness only made Azusa feel all the more self-conscious. Her cheeks burned in mortification as he crouched at her feet, cleaning up the mess.

She bent down to help pick up glass shards, careful to keep her legs together and her skirt tight against her legs.

He'd been trying really hard not to look as he knelt down in front of her, but her movement caught his attention, and he had to fight not to notice her milky white thighs.

He was a disciplined soldier…and yet still but a weak mortal man. Usually the fairer sex didn't faze him. He didn't allow it to, isolating his heart as he had the rest of himself. Usually he kept himself in check, but sometimes a graceful display of femininity, a brief glimpse of something sensual would catch his attention and make him waver momentarily.

" _I wonder what it'd be like to touch her,"_ would flit through his head before he could quash it, slam closed the fire doors before that spark that had set him off had the chance to ignite the rest of his body, his mind.

Amuro Toru…or Furuya Rei for that matter…had never had any experience in love. He'd never had a girlfriend when he was young, and once he got into the police academy he'd never had the time. He'd started undercover work, and it had been too dangerous for romance. Like many other things, he'd sacrificed his right to fall in love for the greater good of his country.

He had, however, gone undercover at a host club, and he'd often had to seduce women—heck, even other men—in order to carry out his missions, but those sham flirtations encompassed the whole of his foray into the world of romance…and his heart had never been in it.

But…Enomoto Azusa was cute.

He acknowledged that. He accepted it. He moved on.

Because she wouldn't be so cute when he found her dead on his account.

No. There would be no romance for him. Focus. The mission took precedence over his longing for companionship. He needed to uproot this weakness in his heart.

"I'm so sorry, Amuro-san," Azusa whimpered as she picked up the remnants of the four glasses. "I'm such a klutz."

He snapped out of his reverie with a gentle smile. Voice full of warmth, he assured her, "No you're not, Azusa-san, and it's no trouble. You're just having an off day, and that's okay. It happens to the best of us."

She smiled bashfully, trying to use the back of her hand to sweep a loose bang back behind her ear. "Not to _you_. You never seem to have an off day, Amuro-san."

"Of course I do," he lied. "You've just never seen it. I tell you, I can be a real mess sometimes."

People died when _he_ made mistakes. He couldn't afford to have an off day.

"Thank you, Amuro-san," she replied, voice delicate and soft like the lace on a lady's gown. "You're always so nice." And she very much felt his kindness.

"Oh!" she yelped like an injured pup, flying to her feet and dropping the piece of glass she had just picked up.

Blood dripped from her fingers, and, looking down at it in horror, her face lost all color.

Amuro was up to standing in an instant and analyzing the situation before Azusa could really process what had happened.

"Let me see," he urged gently yet firmly, reaching out and taking her hand.

That put some color back into her cheeks.

"It should be okay," he reported as he studied the wounds, oblivious to the sensations he was inspiring in his coworker. "It didn't cut too deep, but we should still disinfect and get it bandaged up."

He frowned as he took note of their situation: There was still the mess on the floor, glass everywhere, and she couldn't go anywhere without making an even bigger mess, tracking milkshake throughout the restaurant while trailing blood as she went. As it were, she was dripping blood onto the milkshake/glass mess as they spoke.

He bit the inside of his cheek and paused for a second before making his decision.

Fluidly, effortlessly, and without ceremony, Amuro swept Azusa off of her feet, picking her up bridal style and letting her shoes drop to the floor as he carried her into the back.

"Wow," Ayumi gushed. "Isn't Amuro-niichan dreamy? I told you he was attractive," she giggled. "How manly!"

Mitsuhiko and Genta silently fumed at their insufficiency while Conan set about picking up where Amuro had left off with the cleanup.

Meanwhile, Amuro set a very flustered Azusa down in the break room. With neither pomp nor circumstance, he grabbed the first aid kit and immediately set about treating the cuts.

Azusa tried not to look at him as he knelt before her, gingerly wrapping her fingers with such care.

His hands were rough and callused and big…or at least bigger than hers. They didn't dwarf her own. They weren't gigantic like her brother's, but Amuro-san's hands were definitely a man's hands, and it was…odd…for them to be handling her own with such attention and consideration.

"I am _so_ sorry about this, Amuro-san," Azusa mumbled, feeling her shame as fully as her gratitude.

He looked up at her with that soothing smile. "It's fine, Azusa-san. I'm glad to help. Besides, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you like the wounds getting infected, so…"

She gulped and nodded, watching him work.

They had been in there just under ten minutes when Conan-kun stuck his head in to inform them that the mess had been taken care of, but Azusa's shoes wouldn't be usable despite the effort one of the other waitresses, Misa, had put into attempting to clean them.

"Do you have a spare pair? Or…what size are you? I'm sure Ran-neechan would be happy to lend you a pair so you can get home. You use public transit, don't you?" The bespectacled boy shot her a concerned look.

It turned out that Ran's shoes would be much too big and Azusa had a long commute ahead of her that evening.

She pursed her lips and tried to come up with another solution. "I don't even have enough money on me buy a new pair," she lamented under her breath.

"I'll take you home tonight," Amuro offered, seeing his coworker's distress. "I usually just walk since I live so close, but today I drove because of the rain."

She was about to protest that she lived too far, it would be out of his way, a waste of petrol what with gasoline prices so high lately, but he cut her off before she could even begin.

"It's no trouble at all, Azusa-san. A gentleman would never let a lady go home barefoot. I'd be appalled with myself," he insisted…even as he mentally chided himself.

" _You're no gentleman. You'd push a nice lady down a flight of stairs if it were necessary to further your mission._ You _are a wolf."_

"Thank you _so_ much, Amuro-san." Her eyes shone with grateful tears as she smiled brilliantly at him.

She was cute.

And he was a wolf. Bad doggie.

" _Focus. Mission."_

…

He carried her out to the car (amid the catcalls and immense teasing of their coworker Misa) as Azusa held the umbrella over them. This necessitated some awkward fumbling when he transitioned her into the vehicle, and he ended up getting a little wet in the process, but he assured her again and again that it was fine. He was happy to help.

He turned on the car, and music started blaring. Amuro surged forward to turn it off before her ears could be offended by the sound of his rock and metal radio station. She probably only listened to popular boy bands and cutesy girl groups. She seemed the type—delicate, graceful, poised, feminine.

"S-Sorry about tha—" he started to say but was interrupted by her grabbing his arm and exclaiming with much enthusiasm: "—Was that Dir En Grey?! Turn it back on!"

Her sense of propriety returned moments later as she noticed the astonishment evident in his features. She released his arm immediately, shrinking back as she grimaced, laughing nervously. "Sorry. I mean 'please'. Can we turn it back on, please?"

"You know Dir En Grey?" He couldn't help gawking. More surprising, though: "You _like_ Dir En Grey?"

She nodded sheepishly, hesitating to look up at him through her long, beautiful lashes. "I'm a big fan…ever since I was younger. And I just _love_ Die. I used to cosplay him in high school when I went to conventions with my online friends."

It was like getting hit in the gut with a crowbar—an experience that Amuro had been lucky enough to have firsthand. Who would have ever thought that cute little Enomoto Azusa listened to metal? And cosplayed at conventions, for that matter?

"Who else do you like?" he prompted, turning the radio back on, the volume low enough to give them some background noise without interrupting their conversation.

She shrugged, giggling bashfully and tucking a bang behind her ear in a nervous gesture. "I don't know. I mean…right now I'm really into the GazettE, and I listen to some SID, a little bit of Babymetal. My iPod has a hodgepodge of everything from Enka to screamo, but…mostly I like rock and metal."

"Hn," he hummed to himself as he backed the car out of the parking space.

"What?" She bit her lip and started to squirm a little in the seat, afraid she had said something strange.

He smirked, shaking his head. "Nothing. It's just amazing. I would have pegged you for the type to listen to AKB48 and Arashi."

Her face contorted in distress. "What?! No offense; they're good singers, but their songs are so shallow, so manufactured. …You really thought that _that's_ what I'd like to listen to? Are you kidding?!"

"Sorry," he offered shamefacedly. "But no, I'm not. Who would have ever thought that friendly, pretty, bubbly Azusa-san would listen to heavy metal? It doesn't really suit your image."

"People aren't always what they appear to be, you know," she mumbled sullenly, turning to look out the window at the passing shops as the rain on the pane turned everything into a mundane blur.

"You're right," he quickly agreed, trying to make amends and keep the peace. "I'm sorry. It's just…very unique."

She nodded, but she didn't look back at him.

Amuro pursed his lips, brow furrowing into a troubled frown. "…I've liked Dir En Grey for a long time too." He attempted to fix the damage done with the bridge of common interests. "I even got to go to a concert recently. Have you ever been to one of their concerts?"

That perked her right up, and she spent the next twenty-three minutes swapping stories about the shows she'd been able to go to when she'd saved up, the times he'd been lucky enough to get off work to go.

And Amuro actually found himself having a great deal of fun being with her, sharing his thoughts on a subject that interested him with another human being for once. He'd never had anyone to share these things with before.

He was revealing information about himself, being honest and unguarded for once in he wasn't sure how many years. It was sort of freeing to talk and laugh and not have to lie about anything for half an hour.

As they drew near her house, the rain slammed harder against the vehicle, like a jilted lover pounding at the door.

A natural lull came in the conversation, and he chewed on his lip, studying her out of the corner of his eye.

He wanted her to talk more. He _liked_ this. He didn't want it to stop. It brought an end to that aching in his chest, that loneliness that was threatening to take over and sabotage his all-important work.

"Hey," he called softly. "You said that you liked rock too. What's your favorite rock band?"

"UVERworld," she whispered decidedly with a fond giggle and a wistful expression—the face of a young woman remembering her first love.

Shock washed over his own countenance as they came to a stop in front of her apartment complex.

"R-Really?" He gulped, feeling a tightness in his chest. "M-Mine too. I've always…They've always been…" It was then he realized that he was keeping her waiting, holding her up.

"Sorry," he chuckled with a rosy blush. "We can talk about this some other time. You must be tired and anxious to get in out of this rain."

Azusa didn't move. She was just as eager to keep talking as he was. She too lived alone without anyone in her life whom she could really open up her heart and talk to.

She held her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment as she thought.

"You know…" She pushed that same errant bang back into place for a third time that day by Amuro's count. "You could always come inside for a bit, and we could continue our conversation now. I have some cookies that my brother sent me, and I could make some tea. J-Just for a little bit, though. If…If you don't mind," she added hastily in case he thought her too forward.

Amuro faltered.

He should have politely excused himself immediately. He should have left her alone, but… He wanted to go in, keep talking, spend time with her.

" _Bad wolf. Bad. Focus. The mission. Don't get attached. Do you want to see her dead?"_

His mental protestations all went mute as her lips pressed into a thin, pale line. "I'm sorry. I'm imposing on you so much today. I shouldn't have asked…but I'm having fun talking to you. I don't really have anyone else I can discuss this stuff with, so…and the rain is so heavy, it might not be safe to try to make it back now, so I thought…"

"I'm having fun too," he confessed.

She looked up at him, her eyelids fluttering, lips slowly parting in surprise which quickly blossomed into delight. She smiled at him and giggled, stormy eyes twinkling in the dim light.

Her joy was quickly checked by embarrassed modesty as her cheeks colored and she cast her eyes down. Still her smile persisted as she laughed nervously, "I'm really glad to hear that."

 _Dammit._

She was cute.

He mentally acknowledged this fact, accepted the feelings it dredged up within him, and then set them aside with some difficulty.

He was lonely, and it was clouding his judgment.

…

Her room was pretty much what he had expected it to be before he'd discovered that she listened to bands like Dir En Grey—clean, neat, quaint, and cute. It was small, like most apartments, but she made the most of the space she had. It came equipped with all of the universal necessities: a small table, shelving, a TV, washer, shower, toilet, sink, stove, fridge, microwave, and bed (in the western style).

It wasn't much different from his own…besides the differing levels of cleanliness and the personal touches her apartment had. Hers actually looked like someone lived in it, like she'd made a life for herself there. His…was temporary and bare. He could pick up and leave at a moment's notice. He lived there only as long as "Amuro Toru" was needed to further the mission and not a second longer.

It filled him with a momentary twinge of regret. He wished he could settle down somewhere, have a "home". But he wasn't a pretty flower like Azusa that could put down roots somewhere. He was a tumbleweed, blowing here and there as the wind dictated.

He pushed these thoughts away as he knelt at the table, mentally berating himself. He'd been having a lot of bouts of the "what if"s recently. It was weakness, weakness that he needed to flush out of his system. He'd come too far to have regrets now. People's lives were depending on him. Comrades before him had made the ultimate sacrifice so that he might succeed. It was selfish to start throwing himself a pity party now. Being half-hearted wasn't an option.

"I'll be right back after I start the tea," Azusa assured him with the same serene smile she used at work on the customers. It was unassuming and utterly genuine. It brought a warmth to his heart that he hadn't felt in a long time.

It reminded him of Akemi.

And that was a thought he needed to quash if ever there were one.

 _Subject change._

"So how did you get into UVERworld?" he called down the hall to her as she put the kettle on in the little kitchenette.

She came back into the main room and shrugged, going over to fetch the cookie tin from the shelf. "They've done the theme songs for a game or two and couple anime that I've watched."

That automatically set Amuro off wondering which anime. Bleach? Ao no Exorcist? D. Gray-man? Blood+? And she played video games? Hn. He was learning all kinds of new and unexpected things about her.

"So how long have you been listening to them?" He took a proffered shortbread cookie from the tin as she sat down across from him, putting an elbow on the table and resting her cheek in her hand.

"Hmm," she hummed like a honeybee, looking off to the side as she tried to remember. "It's been about…seven years? Maybe eight. It was at the beginning of high school right before…" She winced but continued. "…my parents died in an accident."

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He scrambled to think of the appropriate thing to say. If he were on a job right now, acting for the sake of his mission, he would have had no problem feigning the right emotion, delivering the right line…but…for some reason, he wanted to be real with her…at least as real as he could be. Just this once.

But she didn't stop to give him the opportunity. "I didn't like UVERworld a whole lot at first, but then after that…" She closed her eyes, feeling the pain once more before the suffering on her face changed into a serene smile of peace. It still hurt, but she was okay now. She'd stayed strong and gotten through it. She could look back on that dark time without falling to pieces.

"After losing my parents, it was really hard. It was just me and my big brother, and…he's so great, but…he was still young himself, just a couple of years older than I am. He couldn't be what I needed during that time. He was going through his own stuff, and…" She shook her head and smiled, gratitude coming off of her like sunbeams. "I can't explain to you what UVERworld was to me back then. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have someone there whispering that it was all right, that I would get through it and tomorrow would come if I just held on…even if it was only an audio recording, but…"

She blushed, feeling silly for baring her heart to him like that.

He reached across the table, resting his hand on top of hers and taking her by surprise. "You don't have to explain it to me. I already know because I've been there myself," he couldn't help but share.

The way that she talked about how the music had saved her gave him goosebumps. It was just so much like his own struggles. When a job went bad or he made a mistake and a comrade got hurt…when a friend died…he too had turned to his headphones for comfort and support. He didn't have anyone else. Completely isolated, the music was his comforter and confidante.

Her misty blue eyes widened at his words. "You too?"

He nodded with a sigh. "In my line of work, you lose people—friends, mentors…people that you've come to think of as brothers and fathers. And I've never actually had a real family of my own, so…"

He frowned, drawing back when he realized what he was doing. He'd forgotten himself for a moment there. Hopefully Azusa didn't stop to question him. He wasn't sure what he was going to say if she asked him, "Do you really lose a lot of people in the barista profession? Oh! You mean like when they quit?"

This was bad. He was letting his guard down around this girl, and that simply wouldn't do. He should leave before he said anything else that might compromise his identity, jeopardize the mission.

But she was looking at him with such a lovely expression of…not pity, but commiseration. Her eyes were filled with an understanding that he hadn't seen in a long time.

There was Akemi again.

But Azusa understood how he felt. She _got_ him.

"I'm glad that there's someone else who feels the same way," she laughed softly, smiling gently at him. "For the longest time, I thought that I was the only person who got so emotional over music. I felt really silly when you asked me about how long I'd liked UVERworld and then I went into this overdramatic, overly-personal speech about my parents and my bout with depression and everything. I'm really, really glad that you get that way too. It makes me feel like less of an idiot."

His heart throbbed. It had been a bad month. He was feeling really vulnerable lately. That was the only reason why she was having such an effect on him. He'd go home, take a hot bath, sleep, and then go do an Olympic triathlon tomorrow to get his head back in order. Something was seriously wrong with him if he were slipping this badly. He'd have to beat all of the weakness out of himself tomorrow. No more regrets. No more getting caught up in what a great smile or pretty eyes Azusa had. Tomorrow there would be training and discipline.

But for the moment:

"You're not an idiot, Azusa-san," he replied immediately. "You're a really awesome young woman who's been through a lot and survived. You should be proud of that."

She blushed and smiled. She was about to say something in response when the tea kettle started screaming in the kitchen. Instead, she replied with an earnest "Thank you so much, Amuro-san" and excused herself to go get the tea.

When she came back, they had a much lighter discussion about which songs they liked best and which lyrics had become their favorites.

They decided that the most ridiculous lyric was "Get. Get out. Notorious Baby. Ga-ga-ga-ga sexy garbage." from the GazettE's Inside Beast. The most meaningful song was a tie between UVERworld's Just Melody and Colors of the Heart. Complication by Rookiez is Punk'd won an honorable mention.

An hour passed rapidly, and it was quite some time before they realized that the rain had abated.

….

Mikau: And that's the first chapter. What do you think? Did you like it? How were my characterizations of Amuro and Azusa? Did you like them? Were they interesting? I'm seriously dying to know what you thought. If you could pretty please send me in some feedback, that would be awesome. I really hope you liked it, but if there's not a lot of interest, I really need to drop this and get back to working on my other stories before my KaiShin fans flay me alive. So if you want to read more, please let me know! Thanks a bunch in advance, and thank you again for reading this!


	2. The Schemer and the Seductress

Mikau: Hello! Oh my gosh! People liked this after all! Thank you so much to all of the reviewers: bourbon, Lady of the Shards, shouldbeworking, piggyninja, and Alexandra Becker! I wish you anonymous guys had accounts so I could communicate with you. ^.^; But, really, I can't thank you enough for encouraging me to continue. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well. I'll try to keep going as long as the reviewers support this. I've got a lot of fun in store for the future! ^o^

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the sexy barista would have come in sooner. I'm really loving this character. He needs his own spin-off series so we can watch him do cool things _all_ the time.

…

Chapter Two: The Schemer and the Seductress

"Azusa-chan!" Misa called to her friend as the other waitress walked through the door.

Misa had been working at Poirot for the past six months, and she'd become instant friends with Azusa. Misa was an amicable, pretty girl who enjoyed shopping, preening, gossiping, and spending time with her boyfriend "Kuro-chan" (better known as Kujiro-san, a rough-and-tumble young man who worked in the kitchen at Poirot).

Misa was a traditional Japanese beauty with modern style. Her hair was long and as black as ink while her skin was the very color of pure ivory. Her lips were almost permanently stained cherry red, and her clothes were always straight out of the latest magazines.

She was vain and shallow, but she was fun to be around and actually a very nice person so long as you didn't have newer clothes than she did.

"What happened last night after Amuro-san took you home?! Did you invite him in for coffee?" she snickered, latching on to Azusa's arm and pulling on it like a child begging for candy.

Azusa laughed as she pulled away from Misa in order to grab her apron and put it on. "Oh, nothing much. We talked a lot on the drive there about music. It turns out that we have the same tastes. And I did invite him in since the rain was coming down so hard by the time we got to my place, but we had tea and cookies, not coffee."

Suddenly a thought occurred to Azusa, and she began to panic. "Do you think I should have offered him coffee instead?! It was much too late to be drinking something with that much caffeine, I thought. Oh! But he had such a long drive ahead of him late at night when the rain finally let up and he was able to leave! The caffeine would have probably done him some good, keeping him awake," the waitress fretted, waving her arms wildly. "And what if he doesn't actually like sweets and was just forcing himself to eat them to oblige me?! Oh no! Misa-chan, what have I done?!" Azusa wailed, burying her face in her hands in despair.

Meanwhile, Misa looked on, not really surprised, but a little disappointed in the innocence and purity of her friend. Still, in her heart she had to admit that Azusa's reaction was really cute, if not what Misa had intended.

"Azu-chan? I honestly think it's okay," she tried to calm the other girl down before she started hyperventilating. "Amuro-san was probably just happy that you invited him and offered him something. It would be super rude of him to turn up his nose at your hospitality, and, really, if you think about it, that wouldn't be like Amuro-san at all, would it?"

Azusa blinked, coming out of panic mode. She thought about it for a moment before enlightenment hit with a profound, "Oh. No. No, that wouldn't be like Amuro-san at all."

"Right?" Misa chuckled at the adorable expression on Azusa's face. "So you're fine," she declared decidedly, clapping her younger friend on the back.

Azusa laughed sheepishly, sweeping a bang back behind her ear. "Yeah. I guess so. Thanks, Misa-chan."

"What are friends for?" Misa preened. She loved Azusa. Azusa always made Misa feel good about herself, like a doting older sister. "And one more thing."

Azusa's ears perked up. "Hm?"

Misa gave her "younger sister" a sly leer as she snickered, "Before, when I asked you if you'd invited him in for coffee, I didn't mean actual coffee."

Azusa's head slowly tipped to the side. She blinked in confusion, waiting for Misa to explain.

Misa smirked. "It's a euphemism. You know. Invite someone over for _coffee_."

No response or look of understanding from Azusa.

Misa frowned and tried again. "You know. _Have coffee_?"

Nothing.

Misa was about ready to bang her head against the wall. How had Azusa come this far in life and yet remained largely untainted?

It took a very suggestive tone of voice and some accompanying vulgar hand gestures for Misa to get her point across.

When she did, Azusa's face lost all traces of color before exploding into a scarlet so red it would make Santa's suit look pale pink by comparison. She gasped and made drowning fish faces for a minute or so before she could shriek, "NO! Absolutely not! I-I would never! And Amuro-san i-isn't the kind of guy who would—! It just…No! No. Just…No."

Misa was having a hard time not dropping to the floor to roll around, she was laughing so hard. Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye and getting control of herself, she sniggered, "Oh, Azu-chan. You're the best. I know. I know nothing like that would ever happen. It was just a joke. But I wanted to make you understand it so that you would flip out on me like that. You're just so funny. I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. I know it's wrong to tease you, but…" Misa smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes at Azusa in hopes of being forgive as she always was.

Azusa frowned, giving her friend a whap on the arm, but her irritation didn't last long. Azusa had always been bad at holding a grudge or even just holding people accountable for their words and actions. She never seemed able to hold anything against anyone, so in this case too she quickly let it go and was back on good terms with the other waitress.

"Don't tease me like that, Misa-chan. You know how high-strung I am, how worked up I get," she pleaded as she tugged on Misa's arm.

"But you're just so _cute_ ," Misa argued, puckering up her lips and speaking in that baby talk that adults normally reserved for children and small animals.

Azusa sighed, resigned to her fate. With a shrug, she set about her work, getting things ready for the morning rush.

"So you guys like the same music?" Misa fell into step beside Azusa, filling the sugar dispensers and making sure there was cream at every table.

"Yeah. We do," Azusa chuckled happily. "That was the first time I'd met anyone who was as much of a fan as I am. I mean, I've met people who like my bands, but…I've never been able to talk for two whole hours about music with someone before, so that was really neat."

Misa paused right in the middle of straightening a place setting. She looked up at Azusa and blinked. "Two _hours_? Gosh."

"Yeah. Between the car ride and at my apartment." Azusa shrugged with a bit of a blush.

"Gosh," Misa repeated, going back to work.

"Well, you know how music means a lot to me. It means a lot to him too. We actually have a lot in common…as far as what music we like and what role it's played in our lives, so…" Azusa explained, knowing that Misa couldn't possibly understand.

Her relationship with Misa was good and satisfying for what it was, but it wasn't deep. Misa didn't know about Azusa's parents or her brother or her struggles. Misa and Azusa went shopping together, talked about movies they'd seen, and gossiped about celebrities and boys…with Misa doing about ninety-nine percent of the gossiping seeing as Azusa did not have a love life or a very comprehensive knowledge of the various stars that were currently in vogue.

They were friends, but they weren't as close as they appeared. At least…Azusa hadn't let Misa see her as she really was, even though Misa was pretty transparent with Azusa. Then again, Misa wasn't a very deep person, so there wasn't much there to delve into.

"Do you guys have anything else in common besides music?" Misa prompted as she endeavored to pour the sugar without spilling it.

Azusa pursed her lips and tried to recall their conversations. "I don't know," she finally decided. "We…sort of just talked about music the whole time." She smiled sheepishly, scratching at her cheek.

Misa gave her friend a deadpan expression. "Seriously? That's impressive. Well…you guys really clicked on that, didn't you? So would you want to get to know him better? You two might have more in common. I mean, did it seem like you guys had chemistry, or…?" A wry smile took over her cherry red lips. "I guess if you can talk for two hours about music, that's kind of indicative of chemistry, isn't it?"

Azusa squirmed a little as she filled up a carafe. "You know, I really would like the chance to talk with him more. Here at work, we don't really talk about anything besides work…and, well, Mouri-tantei and the Shounen Tanteidan's cases, but…it would be nice to find out if Amuro-san likes videogames or manga…what kind of movies he watches, what books he reads. I think it would be fun to be better friends with him. He really is a cool guy."

Misa gave her naïve friend an indulgent look. "Yeah. Better friends would be a start, but…Azusa-chan, don't you think he's handsome?"

Azusa gave a start and almost dropped the carafe. "W-What?" she yelped.

Misa rolled her eyes and came over to take the carafe from Azusa. "Amuro-san's attractive, don't you think?"

"Misa-chan, you have a boyfriend! What about Kujiro-san?" Azusa hissed, scandalized at her friend's mental infidelity.

Misa sighed, thinking her schemes hopeless unless Azusa wised up a little. "Not for me, you dope. I mean _you_. You and Amuro-san."

Azusa's mouth dropped open. She was left speechless as she tried to wrap her mind around the idea.

"He's hot, right?" Misa urged, seeing that she had struck a chord. "And he's a total gentleman. There's no harm in getting closer to him, getting to know him better, and seeing if you two really click, right? I bet he would be a super good boyfriend, and you two look so good together!" she encouraged. "Yesterday when he swept you off of your feet and carried you like a princess, it was absolutely gorgeous! I can totally see you guys together. What do you think?"

Azusa was kept from answering by the back door opening to admit the young man in question.

Amuro waved to his coworkers, giving them a general greeting before directing his attention towards Azusa in particular. "Good morning."

He smiled warmly at her, and she could feel her face heating up.

"G-Good morning, Amuro-san," she returned awkwardly, thoughts of her conversation with Misa clouding her head.

He really _was_ attractive, and he'd been a perfect gentleman to her, going out of his way and terribly inconveniencing himself for her sake. He was a good man who understood her deepest, darkest feelings and accepted them without judgment because he had his own dark past that she had yet to fully learn about. They got along well so far; who was to say that they couldn't be something more than work friends? It was worth a shot.

But…if things didn't work out…it would make life at work difficult if it ended badly. Well, if that did happen, she could always ask to be put on different shifts than him. The Master was very reasonable, very kind, so it probably wouldn't be too much of a problem.

So it was worth a try. Maybe then Azusa wouldn't be so lonely when the work day ended. She'd have someone to spend days off with, someone to call when she was feeling down, someone to text when she was bored…someone to hold her when she felt like crying, someone to wipe the tears away…someone to smile at her and tell her they loved her.

It could be him. She wouldn't know until she tried, but…she could see it: Those hands cupping her cheek, those lips smiling at her, those eyes gazing at her lovingly… It could be Amuro Toru.

Trying not to let her thoughts show on her face despite the rampant blush, Azusa inquired as naturally as possible, "You didn't have any trouble getting home last night, did you?"

"None at all," he assured as he reached for his apron, putting it on and tying it with professional precision. "The storm was heading towards your house, so driving back into Beika, it was pretty clear."

"Oh good," she sighed in relief. "I was just really concerned about you last night, and I felt so bad, dragging you all the way out there. Are you sure you won't take any money for gas?"

He chuckled amusedly at her earnestness. It was honestly endearing. She was a sweet girl to worry about someone like him. If she only knew what he was really like. …He wondered if she would still be able to look at him, think about him the same way. Or would she shrink back? Fear him? …He wondered.

"I'm _sure_ , Azusa-san. And for the millionth time, it really was no trouble on my part," he assured, setting about his morning duties. He took out the soufflés, pastries, and bagels that Misa had earlier put into the oven and set them on the counter.

"Besides," He looked up at Azusa and smiled.

There was something…different…in the expression. Flirtation? Good-natured teasing? She couldn't place it. Her head was still spinning with everything Misa had said. Her judgment was compromised.

"…I really did have fun spending time with you." The look—whatever it had been—was gone and replaced by authentic gratitude. "I don't get the opportunity to just hang out and talk much, I'm so busy with work, so that was a nice change of pace. You did me a favor, inviting me in and keeping me company."

"O-Oh," Azusa giggled a little nervously as her heart fluttered. "I'm glad. I'm the same way, so…"

"Hey, Amu-chan!" Misa called out as she bounced into the kitchen.

Amuro didn't bother wincing, knowing that a reaction would only encourage Misa's bad behavior. "Yes, Mizutani-san?" he replied civilly, balancing her overfamiliarity with a dose of propriety.

Misa stuck out her bottom lip, expression saying, "Call me ' _Misa-chan_ '" so that she didn't have to. Her pout only lasted for a split second before it morphed into a sly, cat-like smirk. "You really hate when I call you that, don't you?"

"I do," he confirmed, serene smile never wavering.

Her grin only widened. "But you put up with it and never say anything. You're such a gentle, good-natured person, Amuro-san. You're like the family Rottweiler that's so used to the children pulling on his ears and tail that he never even thinks to snap."

Rottweiler was a good analogy for him.

"Wan wan," he replied, beginning to transfer the baked goods from the cooking trays into the case. "Did you need something, Mizutani-san?"

Her smirk dimmed at the second repetition of her surname. "Yeah. I want you to come to karaoke with us this Friday."

Azusa gave her friend a startled look. After all, Azusa hadn't heard anything about karaoke.

Amuro too was a little taken aback by the request, but, unlike Azusa, the surprise didn't show on his features. "Oh?" He didn't look up from the croissants. "And who exactly is this 'us' you mention?"

Misa shrugged, going over to lean on the counter so that some cleavage showed. She did it reflexively, not really to seduce him in particular but rather in the habit of showing off how attractive she was at every opportunity. "Me, Kuro-chan, Azu-chan, and Satoko-chan. We're all off by eight on Friday, so I thought we could go after I finish my shift. I mean, I still have to ask everybody, but my Kuro-chan will go if I tell him to, and Azusa-chan never has plans. Satoko-chan will come if the rest of us do, so…?"

Karaoke? Furuya Rei did not do karaoke. Well. Not in mixed company like this. He'd gone a couple times with the guys when he was at the academy, but…that was years ago.

Bourbon certainly didn't do karaoke either. That nutjob only had death, revenge, and deception on his mind.

Amuro Toru…he wasn't so sure about. It might make him less suspicious if he had friends and actually did something with his life beyond working and sitting at home alone. Something like this might lend credibility to his adopted persona. Right now, "Amuro Toru" was a paper-thin mask with no substance behind it. He had a manufactured paper trail and a digitally fabricated past, but… Going out with friends might give his alias depth, make him seem concrete, more real…and that was in service of the mission, wasn't it?

He cast a glance at Azusa who was biting her lip and crossing her fingers behind her back. She wanted him to come, wanted to spend more time with him.

Huh. Interesting.

"Eight o'clock on Friday? Sure. I have time," he responded with a nonchalant shrug…and then watched an excited grin light up Azusa's face.

 _Cute._

"…"

He mentally kicked himself. Hadn't he decided to ignore his loneliness and condemn all weak thoughts of this nature? What happened to not getting attached, not letting a woman distract him? His head still wasn't on straight. The triathlon this morning hadn't done it. He'd do two hours of Bikram yoga tonight. Two hours focusing on his form in the intense heat would help him clear his mind.

…And maybe karaoke this Friday, spending some time with other human beings instead of isolating himself, would help clear up his longing for companionship.

He had to do something. He was losing his focus.

…

Friday came and so did the much anticipated karaoke event. The group of young people met up at Beika Station and walked the few blocks from there to the karaoke box.

Amuro arrived second after Yukimura Satoko—a tall, stylish young woman a year or two his junior. She was nice enough to your face, but he had overheard her bad-mouthing her supposed friends a number of times. She had all of Misa's flaws—vanity, imprudence, pride, etcetera—with none of Misa's redeeming qualities (gentle good-humor and genuine affection, for example).

Satoko only cared for herself and anyone who could further her ambitions (but only for as long as they could do so). Amuro saw through her despite the friendly veneer she wore.

She was as fake as he was…perhaps even more so. It annoyed him, but he kept his mask in place. "Amuro Toru" was a gentleman. He was kind to all women, a respectable, respectful young man.

"Good evening, Yukimura-san." He bowed in greeting to her, dreading the interval between now and when the next person arrived. He'd rather drink lighter fluid than have to play nice with her for more than a minute or two. But still…he kept his "Amuro Toru" persona glued on.

"Aww…why don't you ever call me by my first name like you do the others?" she simpered coyly, giving his arm a playful swat as she batted her overly makeup-ed eyes at him.

She'd had work done to give her the double eyelid that western girls had and eastern girls envied. He was guessing that she'd had a few other little nips and tucks done here and there too. Probably a new nose, some breast augmentation. Hers didn't look real.

"You'll forgive me. I'm very shy," he lied, hoping she'd leave him alone, praying that Azusa and the others would come to his rescue soon.

"That's okay. I like shy boys," she giggled, touching his arm again. "You're so cute, Amuro-san."

She was trying his patience, but he persevered. It would be very inconvenient if he blew up at her and ruined "Amuro Toru"'s established temperament. Because she would be sure to tell everyone in great, extremely exaggerated detail.

"That's very kind of you, Yukimura-san," he replied in a tone that would convey how uncomfortable she was making him. "Thank you."

He had a hard time believing that she was actually interested in him personally. He was aware that he was attractive. It had helped him out many a time in procuring favors, prying information from lips that were supposed to be sealed, and being let into places he shouldn't have been. He was an eligible bachelor—good looking, young, athletic, kind, attentive, mysterious—but he didn't think she cared for him personally so much as she was going after him for sport.

Should he give in and fall for her, he would be just one more conquest—a notch in her belt, a trophy on her shelf. This was a game for her, but she took it very seriously. His resistance was a dire insult. She was determined to get his heart even if she had to pull it, still beating, out of his chest.

Women these days weren't what they used to be. Modesty was dead; propriety, extinct. Purity and innocence were labeled as prudishness and, as such, attacked and persecuted until they were stamped out.

He knew all too well that he could never love a "modern" woman like Misa or Satoko.

Akemi…that was a different story. There was the ideal woman right there…only she had been soiled by _that man_ and murdered by that fiendish Organization.

Both would pay.

While Amuro was caught up in his thoughts, Satoko chose that moment to have a bit of a fainting spell…or maybe she tripped over her stilt-like high heels. He wasn't so sure, but before he could comprehend what had happened, she fell with a gasp befitting a period romance heroine and landed in his arms.

He blinked down at her as she wrapped her arms around his neck to support herself, pushed her chest—yes, definitely fake—against his, and looked up at him with doe-like eyes. Her lips parted slightly as she tried to look alluring.

"O-Oh," she gasped, sounding like an actress in one of those pink films his buddies had delighted in back at the academy. She did her best to look distressed and vulnerable. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I suddenly felt so light-headed."

Ah. So she was going the "fainting spell" route. He would have tried the "Sorry. I'm such a klutz." tactic… You know. If he were the one playing seductress. He didn't get to use that ploy very often, though, because he was taller than the average Japanese male, and it just didn't _work_ , a tall guy like him falling all over a shorter man.

"Maybe you should sit down. There's a bench over there, and then I can go get you some water?" He tried to push her off, but she clung, trying to convince him that she'd be fine in a moment if he'd just hold on.

And so he was stuck.

But that gave him time to analyze the situation. There he was, currently suffering terribly from a weakness of the heart called loneliness. And a busty, loose young woman was literally all over him, his for the taking if he really just needed another warm body to free him from his solitude. And yet…he felt nothing. No physiological reaction or anything…beyond mild revulsion.

This should be exciting, shouldn't it? It should be pleasurable, but…nothing. Apparently in his desperation for companionship, his subconscious still felt it had the freedom to be choosey because Yukimura Satoko slathering herself all over him like gravy on pork did absolutely nothing for him.

And at the same time, one shy look, one brilliant smile from Enomoto Azusa made his heart flutter, his pulse race. With her guileless charms, she made him pour his heart out more readily than any torturer ever had. She muddled his thoughts and sent him pining for comfort, a confidante…love.

 _Shit._

This was bad. How long had she had such an influence over him? Not too long, he hoped. If the attachment was still fresh, he might be able to talk himself out of it, exterminate his affection for her before it was too late and he did something incredibly stupid that ended up getting her, himself, or the both of them killed, but… How long had he been under her power?

…A better question at the moment: How long had Azusa been standing but a few yards off, staring in slack-jawed horror as Satoko stuck to him like a wet t-shirt?

Things really had a way of going from bad to worse, didn't they? Now, when he had just found he was beginning to have… _feelings_ for Azusa, he was at risk of losing her due to a misunderstanding.

…But…wouldn't it be better if she walked away now before things got any farther along? Before he could really lose his mind and act on these feelings for her?

Would it really be such a bad thing to "lose" Azusa now before she could truly mean anything to him?

…Yes. Yes, it would. It would be horrible.

And that was when he realized that he was stuck in some serious fecal matter.

…

Mikau: Thank you for reading the second chapter! I'm so glad that you liked it enough to tune in a second time! …Hopefully you're still enjoying it? Well, let me know please. I'll try to continue so long as people are liking it, but this looks like it's going to be a lot longer than I had originally anticipated, so…I need to go back to my other projects if people aren't reading this. So thanks in advance for reading and reviewing and letting me know you're out there and enjoying my work! See you soon?


	3. The Explanation and the Realization

Mikau: Hello again! Thank you so much for coming back for more! And a big thank you to last time's reviewers for taking the time to let me know your thoughts: shouldbeworking (Yeah, I can't wait until his darker side is revealed. Slowly but surely, but that's more of the climax.), bourbon, Guest, EverThePhantom, and q (You know, her seeing him with Vermouth really would be interesting.). Today I'm also updating Falling in Love Literally, The Healing Process, and Just Passing Through. There's also a new fic called Mausoleum: A Prompt Exchange Collection. It's all sorts of genres, situations, and characters suggested by the members of the Poirot Café forum. It's all kinds of nonsense, kind of like Just Passing Through, so take a look at it. By the way, voting for the 10k Competition on Poirot Café (that the first two chapters of this fic are an entry in) is going on now. If you have time, stop by and read the five fics participating and vote for your favorite! Anyway, here's hoping you enjoy chapter three!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would be a lot more "set" events that you see in typical shoujo manga. ALL of the school festivals and the sports days and Valentine's and the stereotypical beach events and the class trips and the Halloween parties and the karaoke events and the Christmas specials… You get the picture. Who needs murder? …Ugh. I'm a crappy shoujo writer, aren't I? -.-

….

Chapter Three: The Explanation and the Realization

For the remainder of the week after Misa had arranged the karaoke outing, Azusa had been extremely anxious about it thanks one hundred percent to Misa herself. The scheming friend made a point of coaxing the idea of a romantic relationship between Amuro and Azusa into the latter's head, and now it was one of the chief things on Azusa's mind.

It made the days between Wednesday and Friday pass more quickly, thinking about "Does he like me?" "Is he looking at me?" "What should I say if he talks to me? I have to act natural!" "Does he think I'm pretty? … _Am_ I pretty?" "He smiled at me! Does that count as flirting? Oh…no. He smiled at Satoko-chan too…" "Should I cut my hair or leave it long? Does he like girls with long hair?" and "I wonder if he's thinking of me as much as I'm thinking of him."

Unfortunately, her constant stream of lovesick thoughts were making her more accident prone than usual, and Amuro ended up having to cover or clean up for her as a result. He'd caught and steadied her when she slipped on the dishrag she'd dropped, and he'd cleaned up the remnants of the plate that broke when she'd been sneaking glances at him instead of paying attention to where she was going.

But, really, no actual harm had been done by Azusa's little crush, so Misa gleefully encouraged it. It made Azusa giddy for the most part, so what was the harm? Misa was happy to see her friend enjoying a little schoolgirl romance for once.

The trouble came when, on Friday, Misa pulled Azusa aside and impressed upon her the importance of the outfit Azusa chose for karaoke.

"It'll be his first time seeing you out of your work clothes, so you want to make a good impression, grab his attention, and cement his interest," Misa lectured in grave seriousness.

Azusa pulled out her order pad to jot down notes.

Misa rolled her eyes and took the pad and pen away. "Look, Sweetie, all you have to do is be the sexy Azu-chan I know and love. Just put on a little makeup—not too much. You don't want to look like a slut—and wear a cute outfit, okay? You know what you look cute in. Amuro-san doesn't seem the type to like flashy, sexy girls, so just go classy, okay?"

"Classy," Azusa repeated to herself so that she wouldn't forget.

The problem was that it took Azusa about thirty minutes of pulling out everything in her closet that night to find the intersection of "classy" and "cute". She finally decided on a large, wide-necked sweater over a lacey camisole paired with jean shorts over a pair of tights.

She had seen a lot of girls downtown in Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Shibuya walking around in similar outfits this fall, and she thought that they looked cute without being overly showy. Misa had worn an outfit like that before too, and it gave her, Azusa thought, a fun yet feminine air about her.

By the time Azusa finally decided on an outfit and applied a conservative amount of natural-looking makeup, she was running late—five minutes late as she got off the train at Beika Station and rushed down the stairs to the meeting place…where she found her crush with a questionably clad Satoko-chan hanging off of him.

She didn't know how long she had been standing there gaping, looking stupid and feeling heartbroken, when Amuro-san looked up and noticed her.

It felt like hours as she stood rooted to the spot, feeling like an absolute fool. Amuro-san was nice to everyone. What he had done for her wasn't special. He would have done it for Misa or Satoko or any other of the Poirot waitresses. It had just happened to be Azusa. It was a coincidence that they liked the same music, that it meant so much to both of them; it wasn't like that one similarity made them soulmates.

She had been delusional. She didn't really know anything else about him besides his taste in music. What had she gotten so excited about? She'd gotten caught up in Misa's crazy fancies and worked herself up over nothing. He was attractive. They liked the same music. He was nice and polite and considerate. Was that really so much to start planning a life together on? What had she been daydreaming about these past three days? She knew so little about him, and yet she'd made so much out of it.

Now that she was coming to realize her folly, it was easier to see him so cozy with another woman. After all, it wasn't like she'd had any claim on him. She hardly knew him…. So why did it still hurt so much?

It was about then when Amuro and Azusa's eyes met, and a look of mortified panic flooded Amuro's face. It was gone in a flash, and he was calling out to her: "Azusa-san! Help me with Yukimura-san! She's feeling light-headed!"

Azusa blinked, and then it made sense. Amuro and Satoko weren't doing anything indecent. He had simply caught her as she passed out, and he was now doing everything he could to keep her from ending up on the ground.

Azusa felt a tremendous weight lift off of her heart, and it was with joy that she raced over to her friends to see what she could do to assist them.

By the time Azusa actually got over to them, Satoko was more or less recovered…and looking a little perturbed as Amuro helped her over to a nearby bench.

"Stay here. Azusa-san and I will go buy you some water," he instructed, taking Azusa by the wrist and pulling her along after him before she could protest.

They rounded a corner on their way to the vending machines, and Amuro came to a stop with a longsuffering sigh. He released his hold on Azusa as he leaned back heavily against the wall.

"Thank goodness you came when you did," he muttered, catching Azusa by surprise.

"Huh?" Her eyelashes fluttered in confusion.

He looked up at her and smiled warmly. "I wasn't sure how I was going to get away from that woman before you showed up."

Azusa blinked again, still not comprehending. "I'm sorry. What happened, Amuro-san? I don't understand."

He grimaced as he explained, "I don't want you to think less of Yukimura-san, but…I'm afraid she's been coming on to me a little strongly while we've been waiting for you, Kujiro, and Misa-san. She pretended to faint so I would have to catch her. I really wanted to just drop her, but…that wouldn't have been right, and she was all over me like an octopus, anyway, before I could do much about it. I'm just really glad that you came, Azusa-san," he chuckled, grateful to her for getting him out of that scrape.

Azusa frowned, trying to piece things together. "You mean…Amuro-san, you weren't interested in the advances of a pretty girl like that?"

Satoko was gorgeous. Far prettier than Azusa with better clothes, a more natural way with men, and a distinct knowledge of how to do her colors, how to fix her hair, and how to hold her head just right so that the boys all went gaga for her. Azusa couldn't compete…so why did Amuro-san want to get away from Satoko's attentions?

Amuro scrunched up his nose, disgusted at the very suggestion. "Azusa-san," he replied very seriously. "While I don't condemn liberal ideologies, I consider myself to be fairly moderate and honestly embrace conservatism in my personal life. Girls like Yukimura-san repel me. I'd much rather be with a modest, unpresuming girl like you, Azusa-san."

He paused and seemed to think about what he had said. His cheeks colored. "W-What I meant to say was—!"

She smiled softly, a little sadly. "Don't worry. I understand. You didn't mean _me_ specifically. You just meant a girl who was modest and unpresuming _like_ me. Don't worry. No misunderstandings here." She put a little more force into her grin until it started to look…well…fake.

Amuro didn't look satisfied with the conclusion of the conversation either. He bit his lip and looked like he wanted to say something, clear things up, but…he shook it off, mentally chided himself, and let it go.

"Come on. Let's go find the vending machine. I'll buy you a hot chocolate or something to warm you up. You must be cold wearing those little shorts and those thin leggings in the middle of October." He pushed himself up off of the wall and continued their journey, not bothering to take her hand this time.

She was a little disappointed…but…hadn't he said that she was his type? That was something, wasn't it?

And now that the mix-up about Satoko-chan had been satisfactorily resolved, her crush was making a comeback, but this time she resolved to come to like him for what she knew about him, the real him, instead of all of the silly fantasies that Misa had been filling her head with.

"You don't have to buy anything for me. I'm not really all that cold. I mean…the sweater's nice and warm, and the tights are actually thicker than they look," she protested when he brought up purchasing her something yet again in front of the machines.

"No, really. Get anything you like," he urged. "Consider it my apology in advance for the way Yukimura-san treats you after this. She's probably going to be a little sore about you and me going off together and leaving her behind after I snubbed her like that."

Azusa winced. She could just imagine the disharmony that this would bring to the café. "Oh, all right," she conceded, selecting the milk tea.

He picked a bottle of regular water as well as an oolong tea. As he bent down to retrieve the beverages and stood back up, he got a good look at Azusa's outfit for the first time. He had noticed the sweater, shorts, and tights before, but he hadn't actually _noticed_ while he'd still been worked up over his ordeal with Satoko.

He handed her the milk tea and continued looking at her for a minute before decreeing, "You know, that looks really cute on you. So long as you're not cold, you know. It's…trendy without being too revealing like other girl's outfits can be. I like it."

"Thanks," she giggled, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "I had a hard time picking it out. That's why I was late. I really wanted my makeup and everything to be perfect, so…"

"Your hard work paid off," he encouraged her softly, gently but warmly with that slight teasing air that made her heart beat just a bit faster.

Once they returned with the drinks to the bench where they had left Satoko, they discovered that the remaining two of their party had arrived and were ready and raring to go.

Misa had been late due to wardrobe issues as well, and she had held up her hulking, adoring boyfriend Kujiro ("Kuro-chan") due to that.

"I just hope my incredible beauty is well worth the wait," Misa snickered, feeling very much that it certainly was.

Her ego was helped along by her loyal boyfriend assuring her that it truly was.

Kujiro-san was a big, lanky young man of about six and twenty with hair that had been dyed the exact shade of a beet. He wasn't terribly smart, and he was often quarrelsome, but he loved his Misa-Misa more than anything, and that slavish affection was enough to make one feel that, deep down, he was a nice young man who just needed a little more guidance. It was difficult to dislike him.

With their party all assembled, they set off towards the karaoke box, and Amuro was finally able to start calming down.

When he'd seen Azusa gawking at the sight of Satoko all over him…he'd panicked. Even though he knew deep down that it was a mistake to encourage affections for each other on either side, he couldn't help but _not_ want her to think he was a lousy jerk that could be taken in so easily by the likes of a woman such as Yukimura Satoko. He didn't want her to have a poor opinion of him or in any way misunderstand what had happened between himself and their coworker.

It would have been better for the sake of keeping them at a safe distance from one another if she _did_ think ill and misunderstand, but…he didn't _want_ her to. He wanted her to respect him…even though he didn't deserve it.

There was, however, the flip side of this to think about: Azusa hadn't seemed very jealous when she'd stumbled upon a scantily clad woman hanging off of him. She'd been astonished, embarrassed…but not stark raving mad with jealousy.

And that was disappointing.

She hadn't cared. There were no thoughts going through her head of _her_ being the one in his arms instead, he could bet on that.

Even when Amuro had explained what was going on, how he was the victim of sexual assault, she still had wondered at him not _wanting_ Satoko's attentions. As if he would want someone like _that_ writhing all over him. He had no idea where all Satoko had been.

But still, Azusa hadn't been able to fathom Amuro not enjoying Satoko's advances…and she didn't seem to care whether he was enjoying them or not. It made no difference to her.

And that bothered him, kind of making him resent his feelings towards her. Here this oblivious girl had somehow managed to get into his thoughts and win influence over him, and Azusa wasn't even conscious of her effect, didn't really care one way or the other about his love life.

It _bothered_ him. And it bothered him that it bothered him.

…

"Who wants to sing first?" Misa trilled as she bounced into their assigned room. "Azu-chan, how about you?"

Azusa colored and waved her arms in protest. "Oh no. I couldn't go first. I'd be too embarrassed. Why don't you go, Misa-chan? You have such a pretty voice."

Flattery got you far with Mizutani Misa, and so their self-appointed leader graciously took the mic, singing something awful by some cutesy girl band.

Amuro really didn't care for pop idol groups like that. As Azusa had said when he'd insulted her by assuming she listened to such trash, pop groups like that were just so…fake. It was all about the outfits, the makeup, the dance moves, and not so much about the actual music and lyrics. Watching groups like that, you could tell that they didn't actually _feel_ what they were singing. To Amuro, that emotional connection was the most important part.

He snuck a glance at Azusa (whom Misa had conveniently placed right next to him), and while she was smiling contentedly and listening to the performance, clapping for her friend, he got the impression that she felt the same way he did about the music selection. She wouldn't say anything, though. She'd never speak badly about her friend's bands, even if it was just to honestly state that she didn't like it because it was inauthentic. She was the "go along to get along" type, not wanting to cause anyone any problems or be a source of tension within the group. He was willing to bet that Azusa would gladly sing such pop songs if asked simply to pacify the others and not make a scene.

And she did. After Misa had sung two songs on her own, she roped Azusa and Satoko into singing with her. Amuro could tell that Azusa was a little shy about it, but it wasn't bad. I mean, she didn't sound bad. The song was horrid—something about alligators and shampoo or…?—but Azusa didn't have a bad voice. Satoko and Misa both sang tolerably well, so the performance wasn't complete torture.

And Azusa kept sneaking glances at him as she sang. Just little peeks here and there, and then she'd smile almost imperceptibly wider, her eyes would twinkle just a little bit more.

Or maybe that was all completely in his head. Still…

He smiled amicably at her, watching her reluctantly dance around with Misa when the older girl urged her to do so.

It was cute.

But he really needed to do something to stop having that thought over and over again. It was a problem.

For the past three days it had been: She smiled. _"Cute."_ She dropped a plate…again. _"Cute."_ She laughed at something a customer said to her. _"Cute"_ but he was keeping his eye on that customer, and if he tried to get Azusa's number, he and Amuro were going to have a problem. Everything she did was cute, cute, and cuter than the last.

It wasn't going away as he tried to ignore it either. The thoughts were only becoming more prevalent. He was just lucky it had yet to affect his work. His little crush would have to end before it became a serious issue—a liability.

But…

She tucked her hair behind her ear as she laughed with her friends. Her smile was so brilliant, so real… It was soothing.

He _liked_ the way she made him feel, this giddiness, this contentment. Indulging in his feelings for her made him happy.

…Only he had no right to be happy. It wasn't his call. He'd sacrificed "love" and any personal happiness in service to his country. His life wasn't his own to give to any woman, no matter how sweet or charming or good. He'd already pledged everything to Japan.

His mission—dismantling the Organization—had to be his priority. So much time and effort—human lives—had been expended in order to get him where he was now. It had taken years to be promoted up through the ranks and gain a codename. If he slipped up, if he allowed himself to be distracted by these feelings and made a mistake…got himself killed, it would be a long time before another agent could make his or her way up the ladder of the Organization again. He and Scotch had been their best bets…and now _he_ was all they had left.

—Unless they wanted to invest their hopes in the FBI and Edogawa Conan.

The latter wasn't a bad choice, but the former…thinking about _that man_ made his temperature soar through the roof.

It necessarily dragged up memories of Akemi.

…And THAT was why Amuro couldn't tolerate this crush he was beginning to develop on Azusa. Akemi was dead… _had_ been dead for almost a year now…and she _still_ haunted him.

See? Love was no good. It would only mess up his head and rob him of his focus at a time when he couldn't afford to falter.

If he did, more people would die.

So these feelings had to go.

Besides, as evidenced earlier by Azusa's lack of a jealous reaction from the incident with Satoko wrapping her tentacles all over him, his crush was unrequited. He thought he had seen signs of similar feelings in her these past few days, but…the jealous test trumped anything else. She didn't care for him. He was wasting his time, endangering lives with his immature folly, and only asking for hurt and rejection.

He'd steel his heart against her. From now on he wouldn't let her affect him. He'd make himself stop seeing her as a woman like he did with every other woman in his life.

Amuro snapped out of his thoughts as Azusa made her way back to her place beside him on the couch.

His resolutions of just moments before crumbled and dissolved as she smiled bashfully at him.

His mild-mannered, "Amuro Toru" mask settled back into place, and he gave her an encouraging grin. "You have a nice voice."

She laughed, shaking her head as her hands went to her cheeks to cover the blush that was rising there. "Amuro-san, you're too nice to me. Don't flatter me; I might accidentally start believing you."

He rolled his eyes fondly and gave a soft snort of amusement. "If I had said that you were good enough to sell out a concert at the Tokyo Dome, that would be flattery and shameless flirting. I simply said that you had a nice voice."

Azusa blinked, cheeks burning a rosy hue in the dim light of the karaoke booth. "So…would that constitute just regular old flirting?" she asked tentatively, unpresuming.

He opened his mouth, but no witty reply, no judicious response to mitigate the misunderstanding came out. He blushed softly and turned to look at Satoko going up to the mic just so that he wouldn't get caught up in those pretty sea foam eyes and say something stupid like "Yes".

"It's called honestly. It's simply the truth that your voice is very pleasant to listen to." He remained still, calm, despite the urge to squirm in embarrassment. "Despite the fact that the music choices of your friends are a little…"

She smiled, but that was the only confirmation that he got. "Thank you very much, Amuro-san."

He shrugged, trying to seem cool, unaffected. "You're welcome."

There was a beat of semi-awkward silence, but it was soon obliterated by good old Misa.

….

Mikau: These two are so fun to play around with. What do you think of the characterizations so far? I know they're a little different from what we see in canon, but I feel like ninety-nine percent of the canon characters lack any real depth. Haibara, Kaito, and Shinichi are some of the best, but I feel like most of the characters are just walking whiteboards waiting to be doodled on. I mean, they have their basic character elements, their goals and basic personalities, but they're not very fleshed out, so what I'm doing here is trying to expand upon what we see in the manga and anime. Hopefully I'm doing a good job. -.-; Well, I hope you enjoyed today's chapter. Let me know what you thought! I've just finished a fic, so I'm very persuadable at the moment regarding what I focus on next. I'm at least going to chapter five on this, but if it goes any farther is really up to readership, so let me know if you want to see more. Thanks again! See you soon!


	4. The Duet and the Rival

Mikau: Hey there, guys. Today we have lots of updates: Falling in Love Literally, The Healing Process, Mausoleum, and Just Passing Through. There are also two new-ish ones, if you have time. Guide is a short RanKai piece about healing, and Fraud is an AmuAzu piece in which Amuro pretends to be Azusa's fiancé and meets her brother. Before we get started, I just wanted to thank the reviewers from last time: bourbon (Actually, the jealous scene happens in chapter six "The Admission and the Jealous Fit". Look forward to it!), shouldbeworking (I'm excited for his dark side to come out, but I generally take things really slow, so that probably won't happen for a while. ^.^;), Guest (Actually, I liked him when he was the "bad guy" too. ^-^), neonquincy1217 (times two), piggyninja (Huh. I read/watch raw too, but somehow I missed that. What chapter was that in?), and EverThePhantom. I'm so glad that there are people supporting this piece!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I feel like I'd be difficult for an editor to work with. ^.^;

….

Chapter Four: The Duet and the Rival

In Misa's opinion, the evening was going quite well so far. She had forced Azusa to get up and sing and dance around, showing her friend off most effectively in front of their target. And Misa had seen Amuro eying Azusa, admiring her as she smiled and blushed. Misa could tell that he was interested. She could see him sniffing around, thinking about taking the bait. They'd hook him before too long.

More than just sneaking looks at each other, the two lovebirds-to-be were actually flirting successfully! That was a mega plus in Misa's book, especially since flirting was a complicated foreign language for Azusa and Misa hadn't specifically instructed her to do it. It was just taking place spontaneously! Naturally! For Misa, this was proof that these two were meant to be, and she was going to do her darnedest to get them together. Because Azusa could be a little clueless, so Misa doubted things would happen without her own interference.

The innocent flirting came to an end, and then there was a bit of awkward silence that Misa took it upon herself to break. If she could just keep the conversation flowing between those two, keep them talking and discovering things about one another that they had in common…

Misa decided to try music. They both liked the same stuff, right? Azusa had said that they'd talked about music for a full two hours earlier that week when he'd taken her home; maybe another conversation about music would springboard them into another topic and things would just develop naturally from there.

Misa leaned forward to speak around Azusa, and, with a mischievous pixie's grin, inquired, "Hey, Amu-chan, do you like Super Junior better or Hey! Say! JUMP? Or are you a fan of SMAP or Arashi or…?"

Amuro blinked, wondering why in the world she was asking, what he could have possibly done to give her the impression that he would like any of those crappy Johnnies groups. "…Uh… None of the above?"

Misa blinked, genuine confusion showing plainly on her face. "Then…do you like girls idol groups? I wouldn't have thought…"

"And you would have been right," Amuro snorted lightly. "I _don't_ like idol groups any more than I like boy bands."

Misa's befuddlement quickly changed to a fat cat smirk. " _Ooooh_. I get it. You're just embarrassed." She shielded her mouth with a hand as she snickered. "Don't worry, Amu-chan. We already know, and we don't think any differently about you because of it…well…not _too_ much, but…"

"I'm sorry. What?" Amuro raised an eyebrow, feeling completely out of the loop.

"What are we talking about?" Satoko asked as she strutted back over after her song finished.

Misa turned to Kujiro, instructing, "Baby, go sing something, okay?"

The dutiful boyfriend immediately acquiesced, and Misa then replied to Satoko. "We're talking about what music Amu-chan likes. Apparently Azu-chan and Amu-chan are big fans of all the same bands, so I was just asking him what groups he likes, but he's playing all coy about it 'cause he's too embarrassed to admit that he likes pop music."

"Oh," Satoko remarked at the exact same time as Amuro.

The two girls turned their attention on the young man in question, looking at him expectantly.

He looked oddly amused for someone about to confess his deepest, darkest secret.

He grinned as he announced, "Well, since you already know, I suppose there's no harm in admitting that I like those bands every bit as much as Azusa-san. Our feelings about them align in every way."

Satoko gave a noncommittal "Hn." while Misa snickered in triumph, "Isn't that such a weird coincidence? It must be destiny."

Meanwhile, Azusa was looking distressed. She pursed her lips as she gripped at the hem of her shorts. "Don't say that," she quietly directed at Amuro.

Misa, thinking Azusa was addressing her, opened her mouth to tease, but Amuro replied first: "Why not? Isn't it true?"

Azusa shifted uncomfortably, keeping her voice low as Kujiro belted enka in the background. "But saying it like that makes it sound like you _like_ those bands."

"I do," he replied instantly. "Every bit as much as you do."

"But you _don't_ ," she stressed, anxiety evident in her voice as it rose in volume.

"Of course I do," he laughed good-naturedly, unable to be anything but pleased that she was so concerned for his image. "It's already been established that you and I share feelings on the groups in question. I mean, you told them that we shared tastes in music; what music could you possibly have meant besides pop?"

He cast her a kind look and gave her hand a reassuring pat, letting her know that it was okay. He didn't mind. She should just let it go.

Azusa bit her lip, meeting his gaze and searching his fog grey eyes for a moment before firmly, audibly declaring, "Amuro-san, I don't like pop music any more than you do, so why don't you just tell them that the music we were talking about was punk, rock, and metal?"

Satoko and Misa looked at Azusa in astonishment while Kujiro kept singing enthusiastically about plum blossoms and the full moon even though no one was listening.

Amuro smiled in approbation at Azusa before addressing the other two girls. "Well. There you have it. And she has such good taste too. I was just as floored as you when I found out, but I have to say that I'm really impressed with her. She's a regular connoisseur."

"Oh." Misa blinked a little dumbly. "Rock music. She likes…"

Misa's dumbfounded spell along with the awkward tension Azusa was experiencing only lasted about twenty seconds. After that, Misa shot her friend a chastising look and swatted her lightly on the arm. "You dope. You never told me! All this time you've never said a word. All these years I've spent dragging you to concerts—Exile, Ayu-chan, Perfume, KARA, Katy Perry—and you haven't enjoyed any of it, have you?"

Azusa shrunk a little as she smiled sheepishly. "Misa-chan, we've known each other for six months, not multiple years, and I actually do like Hamasaki Ayumi, so…"

"But still!" Misa snorted, hands going to her hips. "You should have _said_ something. Think of all of that money I made you spend, all of that time waiting in line for tickets to go on sale, time spent at concerts that you could have been using to get out there and meet boys!" Misa bemoaned.

Azusa just laughed, taking her friend by the hand. "Misa-chan, I don't mind. I've never minded. I've always had fun spending that time with you, even though I've never been a big fan of the music."

Misa took Azusa's other hand and gazed at her with watery eyes. "Azu-chan, you are the best person ever." Misa leaned forward to look pointedly at Amuro. "Isn't she the best person ever?"

He obviously had only two choices in the matter: He could either answer, "Yes, absolutely." or he could die a bloody, back alley death execution-style at the hands of Mizutani Misa. Still, Amuro didn't like the thought of being forced to give Azusa a compliment. It left a bad taste in his mouth, and he worried it might come across as insincere.

He smiled pleasantly and replied, "I wouldn't be able to say. I'm not acquainted with every person ever, so I wouldn't be a good judge. What I can tell you is that Azusa-san is the most patient, agreeable, compassionate person that I have ever personally met. She's become somewhat of a standard for the ideal human being to me."

"Stop," Azusa begged, face turning magenta. "You guys shouldn't tease me like that. I'll think you're serious."

Amuro smirked, addressing Misa. "She thinks we're joking. Isn't she cute?"

" _Adorable_ ," Misa purred, wearing a giant grin of her own. "I could practically eat her, couldn't you?" she added with a suggestive lilt.

Amuro pretended not to hear. He was _not_ allowing his thoughts to go there.

" _Guys_!" Azusa protested, growing progressively more purple by the minute.

"But seriously, Azusa-chan," Misa jumped back in in her serious tone of voice. "You should of said something. We could have gone to the concerts you wanted to see too."

"It's really okay, Misa-chan. I don't think you'd like my music," Azusa continued to push away the issue. It had never been a big deal to her.

"Well, you don't like _my_ music, and you still went with me once or twice a month. I don't think I could stand metal, but I could probably go to a rock concert with you sometime. I mean, it's the least I can do. _Seriously_. My treat."

Azusa thanked Misa profusely for the offer but, in the end, adamantly turned it down, not wanting to inconvenience her friend.

It was then that Misa had an ingenious idea. "I insist. In fact, we should all three go together—you, me, and Amu-chan. How's that sound? That way I can make it up to you for dragging you to pop concerts and you'll also have someone there who actually likes the music that you can be a geek with. What do you say?"

"Oh! That sounds like a lot of fun," Satoko joined in uninvited. "I think it would be great if we all went together. I know that I'd like to go and see what kind of music Toru-san listens to."

Misa inwardly bristled like a cat as she realized her fatal error. Azusa had a rival for Amuro's affections, and Misa had unknowingly let a wolf into the sheep's pen by allowing Satoko to be a fifth wheel to her scheme of getting Amuro and Azusa together. She'd have to be more vigilant in the future.

For now, Misa put on an energetic smile and laughed. "'Toru-san'? Since when is he 'Toru-san'? I didn't know that you two were that close."

"I feel the same way when you call him 'Amu-chan'," Satoko snickered. "But Toru-san and I have gotten closer recently. He was so kind to me today when I almost fainted earlier. He carried me over to a bench and went and got me a bottle of water. Toru-san is my hero," she explained in a stomachache-inducing-ly sweet voice, giving the 'Toru-san' in question a dreamy look.

Misa seemed slightly alarmed at this. She had erred, mistakenly creating openings for the enemy where she had hoped only to further her friend's interests.

Misa shot Amuro a cross look. "You're not actually going to let her call you that, are you?"

Amuro shrugged disinterestedly. "I don't see how I can stop her. I've had no success with you and your 'Amu-chan this' and 'Amu-chan that'. I will say, however, that no one calls me 'Toru', so I can't say that I'll always answer if you address me as such."

"Do most people just use your family name then?" Azusa spoke up out of pure curiosity, cocking her head to the side at him.

She kind of looked like an Afghan.

Gorgeous dogs, Afghans. So graceful and sleek with their long, shiny coats and their gentle dispositions.

He kind of wanted to reach out and pet her hair. He bet it was soft.

"M-Mostly." He forced himself to look away from her. "Among other things. I'm mortified to admit that our Mizutani-san here has got me reacting to 'Amu-chan', so…"

Azusa couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Please don't laugh at my suffering," Amuro sighed.

"Oh!" Azusa's laughter came to an immediate halt. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"—It's fine. I was just giving you trouble," he cut her off before she could spiral into an out of control apology filled with kowtowing and penitent tears.

"Oh." She laughed in relief. "Oh good."

"Azu-chan, Kuro-chan is done singing," Misa informed, and it looked like this was news to Kujiro, but he came back to the couch and sat down beside his darling anyway. "So why don't you sing us some of that music that you like? It'll be an educational experience for us; you know, to prepare us for going to a concert."

"I don't know. I…" Azusa played nervously with a strand of her hair as her friends (Misa and Kujiro, anyway) encouraged her enthusiastically.

Her eyes caught Amuro's, and he smiled at her. "Why not? You have a lovely voice, as I mentioned before. Are you _able_ to sing songs like that? I mean, do you have the range? Some of those songs…the screaming parts might be a little…"

"I can't do them very well," she admitted. "I usually just sing the screaming parts regularly. It sounds a little funny, but…" She bit her lip and cast a nervous glance at the expectant audience of Misa, Kujiro, and Satoko.

Picking up on her stage fright, Amuro gladly offered, "What about if I sing with you?"

"Yes!" Misa decided in Azusa's stead. "She'd love to do a duet with you."

Azusa's cheeks colored, but she nodded hesitantly, meekly replying, "If it's really no trouble. I mean, if you really don't mind…I'd appreciate it."

"Of course," he chuckled amiably, getting up to grab the song list booklet. "What did you want to sing?"

She pursed her lips and thought about it for a minute before asking, "Um…Would you happen to know any songs by American bands?"

He shrugged. He had spent plenty of time in America for training. "Sure. I can sing in English well enough. What did you have in mind?"

"Do you know Rise Against?" She smiled shyly, crossing her fingers.

He blinked and then cracked up because if this girl got any more awesome, he'd have to marry her.

"They're one of my favorites," he informed with a satisfied smirk. "I just saw a concert of theirs a little over two years ago in Chicago."

"I'm sooooo jealous!" Azusa squealed. "I've never been able to see them. Gosh, that would be like a dream."

Her eyes sparkled at the thought, and she just looked so earnest and darling that he couldn't help but say, "I'll have to take you along the next time me and the guys go."

"That would be unbelievably amazing!" she trilled in delight.

When he stopped to think about it later that night, he realized that he had invited her to hang out with the secret police. Which was an amusing thought at first and then terrifying when he considered what all his buddies would tell her, how Hayao would hit on her, and how Yusuke would show her pictures of when Rei was an awkward teenager.

Terrifying.

Amuro also realized that it would be a long time before he saw "the guys" again. Going to that concert had been the exception rather than the rule. He couldn't risk contacting his brothers in arms unless he really, truly needed some manpower to help him with the mission.

He was in the middle of some deep undercover work, and he needed to isolate himself as much as possible in order to maintain his cover…to keep everyone safe. He wouldn't be able to see his friends for a _long_ time. Right now, he didn't have "friends". There was only the mission, the work that needed to be done.

…But that didn't occur to him until later. He was caught up in the moment…in Azusa's glowing smile.

"Which song did you want to do?" he prompted.

She nibbled on her lip as she thought. "Maybe Tragedy + Time? I think everyone would be okay with that. It's not _too_ …" She searched for the best word to describe it.

"Yeah," he agreed with her unvoiced sentiments. He understood what she meant, and he thought Tragedy + Time would be one of the least offensive songs they could sing for their unaccustomed friends. "I think that's a good one to start with. It's a little emotional, though."

He wondered if she would be all right singing it. He could easily imagine it being one of the songs that had given her the strength to go on and keep fighting that she'd listened to during that dark time in her life after she lost her parents. He could almost see her curled up in her room crying with the headphones on.

"Hm?" Azusa's head tilted to the side, not understanding his meaning.

He smiled. She was a tough girl. She'd made it through all that, and she would be all right.

The music started, and their voices meshed rather well. Azusa's pronunciation was definitively that of a Japanese that didn't get much opportunity to actually practice the English she'd learned in school. It was accented, but mostly understandable. At the very least, she knew exactly what she was singing, unlike many of her fellow countrymen.

She sang with conviction and genuine emotion that made Amuro's skin tingle. The connection she felt with the lyrics was palpable when she sang about the pain she felt when she was lying awake alone at night, waiting for tomorrow to come and praying that things would be better when it did. She could relate to having to put on a brave face and fake it in front of others even as she felt like she was dying inside, wishing there was someone there to talk her down.

She had been there.

Furuya Rei had been there.

And sharing in that song with her was exhilarating, experiencing the feelings as they washed over them with the lyrics and the notes. It was breathtaking, absolutely beautiful.

She was beautiful as her eyes blurred with tears and she smiled.

Enomoto Azusa was a survivor. And a thief.

His heart had been right there, securely in his chest not two minutes ago, but now…she'd taken it from him, and he was beginning to think he was going to have a hell of a time getting it back. So much for shaking loose this crush while it was still in its infancy.

Still. Just because he had these feelings, that didn't mean that he had to act on them.

…Easier said than done, but…

The song ended and she beamed at him, wiping away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes. "Thank you so much, Amuro-san! If it's not too much trouble…could we do another one?"

Amuro snuck a quick look at their demanding leader, and Misa nodded vigorously in whole-hearted support of the suggestion.

Amuro chuckled softly. "Of course. Which one did you want to sing next?"

Azusa decided upon Collapse—not exactly a "happier" song, but a less emotional one…unless you were an ardent environmental activist. Azusa sang it with enthusiasm, and Amuro found himself getting swept away with her.

Apparently "Amuro Toru" did karaoke because he was certainly enjoying himself now that there was some decent music. He really was having fun singing with Azusa.

The peanut gallery was quiet as they sang…or maybe Amuro and Azusa were just too caught up in the music to take notice of anything else that was going on.

Amuro saw Satoko try to interrupt once or twice between songs as Azusa asked if they could do this song by this band next? If he had heard of such and such band? If he liked so and so song?

Misa fielded Satoko, giving her a firm "Shush!" and insisting that Azusa be allowed to sing as many songs as her little heart desired because that was what they had all come for in the first place.

Finally, after Azusa and Amuro had sung the two Rise Against songs, Just Melody by UVERworld, and Dir En Grey's Glass Skin, Satoko broke up the party by playfully pretending to pout, "Azusa-chan, you've been hogging Toru-san for the past twenty minutes. I want a turn too!"

"Oh!" Azusa gasped as she came back into awareness of where she was and what she was doing. Ever since the music to Tragedy + Time had begun, she'd been in a bit of a trance where there was just her, Amuro, and the music. She'd completely forgotten about the others watching her and listening in as she enthusiastically sang some of her favorite songs.

"I'm so sorry! I _have_ been hogging the microphone!" She bowed deeply to Satoko, contritely holding out the mic to the other girl.

"Toru-san," Satoko giggled, bouncing up to him and getting in between him and Azusa. "Sing a duet with me!"

Amuro grimaced. "I'm actually feeling a little parched at the moment after singing with Azusa-san for so long. Maybe when I get back. I'm going to step out into the hall and get some water from the fountain." He gave a plausible excuse and then got out of there as quickly as he could before she could pounce upon him, squeeze his arm to her chest in a vice grip, and make him sing with her.

Satoko stuck out her bottom lip and glared at his back as he fled. She wasn't given much time to ruminate, though, because as soon as the door shut behind Amuro, Misa was up on her feet, hands on her hips, scowling.

"So you like Amuro-san too, huh?" Misa cut straight to the chase.

Satoko blinked innocently, looking a little confused at first. She somehow made herself blush as she smiled in embarrassment. "Is it that obvious?"

"Cut the act, sister," Misa snorted, flipping her long, ebony ponytail back over her shoulder. She was shorter than the other two girls by a head, but she somehow managed to look commanding as her personality made up for her physical lack of height. "You're a schemer and a con just like me, so don't try to play me. We're going to be straight with you: we're a coalition whose purpose is to hook Amuro-san up with Azu-chan, and we're gonna take you head on and take you down."

Satoko blinked. "You call him 'Amuro-san' behind his back? What happened to 'Amu-chan'?"

Misa bristled and hissed. "Hey! Pay attention when someone is throwing down the gauntlet in front of you! …And I only call him 'Amu-chan' to his face to annoy him, so there," she added in a huff.

"Fair enough," Satoko chuckled at Misa's outburst. "And you'll forgive me if I don't consider Azusa-chan to be much of a threat. I think my body beats hers hands down, and I'm infinitely more skilled in the art of flirting and manipulation while she's…artless. I'm sorry, but I just can't take a skinny little stick with no experience seriously as my supposed rival. If she's the only thing standing in my way to Toru, I'll be riding him by next Tuesday," Satoko declared haughtily with a prim little laugh.

Misa was so incensed that she began to spit like a cat. She rolled up her sleeves, intending to have a knock-down, drag-out brawl with Satoko right then and there, but her boyfriend gently put a gargantuan hand on her shoulder and held her back.

"Easy, Misa-mi."

Meanwhile, Azusa was about ready to have some very strong words with Satoko herself. It took _a lot_ to get Azusa truly angry, but Satoko had just crossed the line.

She got to her feet and gave her rival a stern look. "Listen, Satoko-chan. I might not be much, but I know that. I don't have your hourglass body or any of your tricks and tactics. I don't have your experience with flirting, and I've never even kissed a guy, but one thing that I do have on my side is honesty."

Misa listened to her friend in surprised admiration. She had never seen Azusa stand up for herself in anything before, and she couldn't help but feel proud of her friend for finally speaking out but still managing to do so in a way that did Azusa credit by staying true to herself. She didn't need Satoko's low blows and catty tone to get her point across.

Satoko, meanwhile, was unimpressed. "Honesty?"

"Honesty," Azusa affirmed. "I'm sorry, Satoko-chan, but I can't believe that your way of doing things is right. Tricking people, pretending to be someone you're not, manipulating the person you want to go out with you…I just can't agree with that. How are you supposed to build a meaningful relationship on that? Where's the trust and supporting one another?"

Satoko looked like she was about to be sick on the purity and idealism coming out of Azusa's mouth.

"Satoko-chan, even if Amuro-san doesn't develop feelings for me, I don't think you have a chance with him using those tactics. Amuro-san is an honest, honorable man who won't be fooled like that," Azusa concluded earnestly.

Satoko gave a snort. "Well. We'll just have to let our little experiment run its course to see which of us comes out the winner, won't we? But I'll tell you this, I'll buy you and your Misa-chan both designer handbags if a beanpole airhead like you can win out against me for a guy."

"I'll look forward to my designer handbag, then," Misa crowed.

Azusa frowned, worried for her coworker. "Satoko-chan, I think you'd better give up before you end up getting hurt. Amuro-san isn't interested in you."

Based on what Amuro had said before when they'd left Satoko on the bench and had gone to the vending machine, the dyed blonde's odds didn't look good. Azusa would hate for Satoko to get so worked up only to get her heart broken.

"We'll see about that," Satoko retorted decidedly, giving her short, layered locks a good shake. They fell back into place looking wispy and wind-blown.

"Well, why don't we just ask and see where you both stand with Amuro-san?" Misa suggested.

"And look stupid? I don't think so." Satoko immediately rejected the proposal.

"Not us _personally_ ," Misa revised, casting Kujiro a meaningful glance that he didn't quite get the meaning of. "Baby, I want you to do something for us." She smirked as she detailed the plan to her henchman. "…But whatever you do, just don't let him know that we put you up to this. Okay?"

Kujiro nodded resolutely.

And just at that moment the door opened and in walked the man of the hour.

…

Mikau: I think that went rather well. Hopefully you liked it. ^.^; Updates may be a little slow in the coming weeks until I get out of my funk, so bear with me, but I'll try to have another update in about two weeks. Have a nice day!


	5. The Ninja and the Ride Home

Mikau: Hey guys. Sorry this took so long. I've been too depressed to write lately. Winter really kills me. That being said, this is probably going to be the last chapter for a while until I get out of my funk. I hope to be back in late January/early February, but we'll see. Today we have a lot of updates: Falling in Love Literally's final chapter, The Healing Process, Mausoleum, Just Passing Through, and a new one called Sacrifices. It's a HakuSeraKai piece. Thanks a bunch to all of the reviewers from last chapter: neonquincy1217, Kimmiko T, piggyninja (Most of the music, like Rise Against, is my brother's music, but UVERworld was my favorite band years ago. ^.^), bourbon (Jealous Rei is actually in chapter six, so keep looking forward to it. Sorry for the wait.), EverThePhantom, and q. I really am glad that people are enjoying this.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would be an Alice in Wonderland episode. Dream sequences are a little overused, so maybe an Alice-themed murder?

…

Chapter Five: The Ninja and the Ride Home

Amuro had hastily retreated when threatened with the possibility of having to sing some raunchy pop duet with Satoko. He really did need something to drink after singing so many songs back to back with Azusa, so it wasn't like he was totally blowing Satoko off without cause…. When he got back, hopefully no one would ask why he hadn't just drunk any one of the beverages on the table that the group had purchased.

He could always say that he needed some fresh air…when in reality what he truly wanted was some space and some time away from Satoko.

…But what he _didn't_ need at the moment was the silence out in the hall that allowed him to dwell on those duets with Azusa, how it had made him feel, and the little crush for her that he had no business harboring.

…Maybe it would go away if she broke his heart. It wasn't as if Amuro's feelings were requited exactly, so there was a good chance that nothing would come of all this if he could keep himself from acting on his urges. Or maybe he'd slip up and act, and she'd turn him down outright.

Amuro blinked, checking his watch. He'd gotten so caught up in his thoughts that he'd been standing at the fountain letting the water run for five whole minutes straight now.

He needed to get a grip fast.

With a sigh, he headed back to the room, opening the door and stepping in…only to immediately sense a change in the atmosphere among his coworkers.

"Hey guys…what's going on?" Amuro frowned, studying each of their faces—Misa smiled innocently, Kujiro looked sort of vacant, Satoko was all sweet smiles for him, and Azusa…Azusa's face was telling. She blushed, wringing her hands nervously as she smiled meekly and cast her eyes down at the floor.

"Oh, nothing," Misa answered for the group. "Azu-chan, Satoko-chan, and I were just on our way to the ladies room. We have to powder our noses and pick wild flowers and all those other euphemisms. Come on girls!"

Satoko obediently followed Misa out, and Azusa found herself dragged along.

And then it was just Amuro and Kujiro.

"Well," Amuro sighed as he sank back down on the couch to wait for the girls to return.

Kujiro shifted uncomfortably, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He wasn't really good at talking with new people, and even though Amuro and Kujiro had been working together for a while now, they had never really spoken outside of the scope of their employment before, so it was a little awkward to suddenly whip up a conversation.

"Do you like sports?" Kujiro tried for some common ground. Maybe he would get lucky and he and Amuro could talk about basketball.

Amuro cast a sideways glance at his companion, held it for a second, and then faced back front once more. "No. Not really. I'll watch with a group, but…I can't say I have any particular interest personally."

He smiled as he thought back to all of the times he'd been roped into somebody's watch party back in the days of the police academy. He'd been forced to watch soccer, baseball, basketball, and even women's volleyball…especially women's volleyball. Those had been some good times with the guys, but he really hadn't cared much about what was going on on screen. It was more about the atmosphere, the conversations, the food, and being with his friends.

"Oh," Kujiro breathed in a sigh of disappointment. "Well…" he racked his brain for something else they might have in common. "I…I like karate and mixed martial arts and stuff like that. I know that's still kind of a sport, but it's a little different from team sports, so… Do you…? Uh…"

"I practice jujitsu, but I can't say I really have much interest in it," Amuro admitted honestly, throwing the poor guy a bone. "I learned for survival, not really out of any love for martial arts or that whole lifestyle and ideology. Sorry."

Kujiro raised an eyebrow at his coworker. "Dude. Why's a barista gotta know jujitsu for survival? You work in some really rough cafés before Poirot?"

Amuro chuckled softly. "No. You forget that I'm also a private detective. We get in some sticky situations in our line of work."

"Ooooh." Kujiro nodded. "Yeah. I totally forgot. Say, that's really awesome. You're like a crime-fighting ninja or something! …So…Do you solve a lot of murders or…or do you work more on bank robberies or is it more like lost cats and stuff? What's that like?"

"I do a little bit of all of the above, actually." Amuro shrugged.

"Do you like it?" Kujiro urged, actually interested in getting some more details.

Amuro shrugged again. "It depends. I find the work really interesting, but seeing murders day in and day out can wear down on you. It's good to get a lost cat every once in a while. Sometimes it's rough when someone dies and you couldn't prevent it or you fail and people get hurt, but…on the days when you _do_ foil the evil plot and you _do_ get there in time to save a life…when you get to carry a little girl and her puppy out of the rubble of a burning building and hand her over to her mother…it's the best job in the world."

"Dude…" Kujiro breathed, radiating admiration. "You are like, freaking awesome. Man, if I wasn't absolutely positive that my Misa-Misa would never cheat on me, I would be so insecure with you around the café."

Amuro gave an involuntary laugh at this. "Oh, don't worry. I can assure you that I'm not interested in your girlfriend, Kujiro."

The doting boyfriend frowned, ready to be offended at one wrong word from Amuro. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean? My Misa is the ideal woman, I'll have you know."

Amuro raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Easy. I hold your girlfriend in high esteem. She's an excellent woman, but she belongs with _you_. She's too much woman for me to handle. I'm better off just being friends with her."

This seemed to satisfy Kujiro, and he nodded. It was then that he remembered the task his Misa-Misa had set before him. "Oh! Hey, Amuro…how do you feel about Azusa-chan and Yukimura?"

Amuro blinked, trying to assess where in the world that had come from. "Why do you ask?"

"Misa told me to," Kujiro replied promptly…only to regret it when he remembered that he wasn't supposed to tell Amuro that. "Dammit!" He slapped his palm to his forehead. "She told me not to tell you that she had asked me to."

With a kind smile, Amuro assured, "Don't worry. I won't say anything, but why do you think Misa-san asked you to do that?"

Kujiro shrugged and gave Amuro a quick rundown of what all had happened after he'd stepped out earlier. "Azusa-chan was really cute. She's so nice, and instead of being all mad at Yukimura like I would have been if another guy was movin' in on my Misa-Misa, she seemed like she was more worried about you breaking Yukimura's heart than anything. Azusa-chan's a really great girl, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Amuro agreed a little half-heartedly, more than a bit disappointed that once again Azusa had failed to get jealous over him.

Hadn't their singing together had any effect on her? God, how their voices resonating had made his heart beat. Hadn't she felt _anything_?

He silently scolded himself for allowing her hold on him to strengthen. He shouldn't be here, shouldn't be letting himself indulge in these feelings for her. He should go home and take a week off from his café duties. He needed to get away from her and go hiking in the mountains or something.

Normally, whenever something sparked a reaction in him, he could urge surf—be present with his emotions, acknowledge what he was feeling for what it was, accept that he was feeling that way, come to terms with it, acknowledge that it was a natural part of the human experience, and then let it go and move on. That was how he had always dealt with loneliness and bouts of lust before, and it had always been effective. He had _always_ been able to put thoughts of a nice pair of legs out of his mind before…with varying levels of difficulty, but he had never lost total control of himself to the point where he was unable to regulate his emotions like what was going on now.

Enomoto Azusa was proving to be his undoing.

And how quickly it was happening. Just the previous week she had been nothing more than a pretty coworker to him. He hadn't felt this undeniable attraction before. He had marked her down as special due to her unparalleled compassion and agreeable nature; he had taken note of her due to her even and ever-cheerful disposition, but he had never seen her as anything more than a coworker he was marginally fond of until that night when he had taken her home and she had begun to shatter all of his preconceptions about her.

Though it was obvious that Azusa found Amuro to be handsome and good-natured and was not opposed to the thought of him as a prospective partner, it was apparent that her heart wasn't really in it like his was. If she could say things like, "Even if Amuro-san doesn't develop feelings for me…" coolly, without much concern about the outcome, she couldn't care much for him, could she?

Why this difference in levels of affection that were sparked at the same time? How could she, a simple and honest young woman prone to enthusiasm and romanticism, have cooler feelings than him, a hardened soldier?

…Maybe because her honest vulnerability had really struck a chord in him when she'd shared with him her love of music, the loss of her parents, and that time of her life that had been ruled by depression. She had opened up and shared, becoming more than just a cute coworker to him. With his new knowledge, he suddenly saw her depth and her charm, her strength and her courage. Getting to know her had made her attractive to him. He hadn't been anywhere near as open with her—nor _could_ he be—and so he had not cemented a place in her heart as she had in his.

"Kujiro," Amuro called softly as he shook himself from his thoughts.

"Hn?" The redhead sat up straighter.

"You can tell Misa-san that Yukimura-san isn't my type, and while Azusa-san is a great girl, I'm not emotionally available right now, so I can only think of her as a friend. Okay?"

The younger man nodded, having no clue as to the significance of the message. The only things Kujiro comprehended about love were the things pertaining to Misa—her favorite flowers, the brand of her perfume, their anniversaries, her ring size, how she liked to be kissed, what restaurants to take her to…. He had no notion of the back and forth game of chess currently being played out in front of him.

It was just a couple of minutes later that the girls came back in, and Kujiro was forced to sing a duet with Misa before the girls started to take turns singing that dreadful pop music again.

They kept at it until midnight—talking and singing and laughing and enjoying the food and drink. Well…three-fifths of them enjoyed the drinking part.

Furuya Rei had long given up drinking. He'd been a sad, irritable drunk, prone to rowdy outbursts that tended to start bar fights and ended in him and his friends getting kicked out. Now Furuya Rei only drank when he was seriously depressed.

Bourbon, on the other hand, was a mild social drinker. He'd nurse the same one or two drinks all evening at "company" events, really just holding the glass and occasionally taking a sip in order to look like he was drinking.

Amuro Toru…he still wasn't sure. This identity was a little weak, not yet fully fleshed out. He'd have to work on the character some more, especially now that it looked like he'd be using it more often outside of work, but, for the moment, he was kind of leaning towards Amuro Toru not being a drinker. Amuro kind of seemed like a tea person to him.

Noticing that Azusa seemed to be sticking to tea as well, he asked, "You not much of a drinker either?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I'll have one from time to time, but I'm such a light-weight, so I really have to be careful about where and when I drink." She snuck a peek at the time. "I'm going to have to leave soon so I don't miss the last train, and I don't want to be out so late by myself drunk," she explained.

"I'll take you home," he offered. And then promptly gave himself a sound mental kick.

Wasn't he supposed to be actively trying to loosen her hold on him? Hadn't he resolved to avoid her? So why was he offering her a second ride home when the first one had caused so much trouble? With his luck, this time she'd tell him about her love for tournament-style fighting anime and classic cars. She'd reveal more of the secrets of her tragic past, and he'd be proposing to her and confessing his own secrets before the month was out.

Thankfully, she refused his offer.

"I couldn't let you drive so far a second time this week for me. Especially not this late at night after you worked today and have been out several hours with us."

"Azusa-san, it would be no trouble," he insisted. And mentally banged his head against the wall.

"If it'd be no trouble…" Satoko gingerly broke in, siting her own intoxicated state and her fear of perverts trying to take advantage of her as a reasonable claim to his services.

Amuro silently cursed, realizing that he was stuck.

Misa more audibly (and drunkenly) expressed Amuro's unstated opinion, but the others kindly pretended not to hear.

Seeing no way out of it, Amuro was about to gladly agree in character—because Amuro Toru was a gentleman no matter what Furuya Rei personally thought of his loose coworker…dammit—when Azusa got the jump on him.

She looked at him with pleading eyes and earnestly asked, "You will take her home, won't you? I'd do it myself, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help keeping away the perverts, so… Will you please, Amuro-san?"

There was that crowbar to the gut feeling again. He supposed it would have been too much to ask to have her beg him to refuse because she didn't want that slut alone with him in a sexy car where all manner of crazy things could happen between a man and a woman late at night. There it was: Azusa didn't really care if he got jumped by Yukimura. He was nothing more than a coworker to her. And, God, it sucked…even if it was better for the mission this way.

He smiled amiably, putting on his customer service mask. "Of course. Like I said, it's no trouble. I'd hate for something to happen to one of my cute coworkers."

And that settled it.

…

They parted ways at the train station, Satoko and Amuro heading towards his car while Azusa and Misa (and Kujiro escorting her) made their way towards their respective platforms.

Only, once they were out of sight, Misa reached out and grabbed Azusa by the arm.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" she scolded like a Catholic school nun.

Azusa looked utterly taken aback. "W-What do you mean, Misa-chan?"

"Asking your crush to take the enemy home like that?!" Misa exclaimed, waving her arms wildly, attracting the attention of passersby.

Azusa blushed and lowered her own voice, hoping to set an example for Misa to follow. "She really was drunk, and what with her wearing clothes like that, people might get the wrong impression about her, and she might be bothered by perverts."

Misa did not take a clue from Azusa's soft tone. Instead she snorted loudly, "You mean they might get the _right_ idea about that slut. And I don't think she was really half as drunk as she was pretending to be. Now you've got her riding to her apartment with him! It's the perfect opportunity for her to make a move and snatch him away from you! Did the thought not even occur to you before you practically begged him to take another woman home?! Have you no sense of jealousy?! You _do_ have a crush on this guy, right?!" Still Misa's arms flailed.

Azusa blinked and then laughed as if she found the very idea preposterous. "Misa-chan, there's nothing to be jealous about. Amuro-san is just giving Satoko-chan a ride home. Nothing's going to happen, even if she does try to make a move on him."

Misa stared at her friend in uncomprehending frustration. "How can you have such faith in him?"

Azusa shrugged and smiled cheerfully. "Because I know what kind of man he is. He's a good man and a gentleman. He told me that women like that repulsed him and—" She suddenly broke off with a flaming blush.

Misa, infinitely pleased with this revelation, leaned in closer. "And? And what? What did he say?"

Azusa squirmed, wringing her hands. "He said…that girls like me were his type. Not me in particular, mind you, but…girls _like_ me, so…"

But Misa had ceased to listen after the first sentence. The black-haired beauty was currently doing a rather attention-grabbing victory dance. "Yes!" she cheered. "Ha! I knew it! I _knew_ he was sweet on you and that he'd never be taken in by that hag Satoko! Yes!"

…

Meanwhile, a rather dejected Amuro Toru was leading a not-quite-so-drunk-as-she-was-pretending-to-be Satoko to his car, feeling like he'd been tricked and cheated. He'd wanted to drive Azusa home, but instead he was stuck with Satoko. He supposed that that was his cosmic punishment for losing sight of the mission in favor of his own worldly desires.

He could have no idea that Azusa's lack of jealousy did not reflect a lack of interest in him but rather a sense of trust and a high opinion of his character.

In contrast, Satoko was very aware of what Amuro's own behavior towards her signified.

"You're really nice, you know," she softly broke the silence after they'd been driving for a few minutes. "It's really nice of you to drive me home like this, even though you don't like me."

Amuro gave her a pleasant, appeasing smile as he replied, "Don't be silly, Yukimura-san. Of course I like you; we're all friends, aren't we?"

She grimaced, shifting to sit with one foot up on the seat, her knee hugged to her chest. "Come on," she urged. "You know what I mean. You're not dense, and I've been throwing myself at you pretty hard all night."

His fake grin faded into a neutral, if not somewhat guarded expression.

"I really do like you, you know," she added softly before instructing, "Turn left up here." She sighed, going back to her previous thought. "…I know I've been coming on strong, but I'm not just a slut; I _do_ like you."

He was thoughtful for a moment because there was something more than a manipulative ploy in her words. She did feel something.

Finally he answered, "I'm sorry. Thank you, but I'm not emotionally available right now."

"Because you like Azusa," she easily filled in the blank.

"No," he responded quickly…maybe a little too quickly to be convincing. "It's not that. I can only see Azusa-san as a friend at the moment. I'm just not…emotionally available."

It sounded like a weak excuse even to his own ears.

"Ex-girlfriend?" Satoko persisted.

Not being emotionally available had been a vague, cover-all excuse, but when she pressed him like that, he realized that there was more truth in it than he'd originally believed.

Akemi's face came to his mind, and he sighed, "Not even. She was never 'mine'."

Satoko nodded as if she understood all too well. "Unrequited love."

Amuro gave a sarcastic laugh and mumbled, "Sure. Let's just go with that."

"But what kind of girl could resist a Prince Charming like you?" Satoko wondered in disbelief.

He wanted to answer: The kind that fell for a lying, conniving, _vile_ man that had manipulated her, played with her feelings, and used her for the sake of furthering his own goals.

It made Rei sick because he had done the same kind of thing many times while gathering intel for his own work. The thought that they weren't quite so different as he'd like to believe nauseated him.

The big difference was that Akai had done it to _Akemi_ , and that was unforgiveable. Especially since Rei genuinely loved the woman that Akai had seduced merely to get a leg up in his work.

"I don't want to talk about it," Amuro finally replied with a sigh of exhaustion.

"…Okay," Satoko relented a little reluctantly. "…But just so you know, I'm not going to give up on you," she vowed.

Amuro resisted the urge to bang his head against the steering wheel. He did, however, manage to respond in a disinterested yet cordial tone. "You're free to do as you like."

They thankfully arrived at her apartment not ten minutes later, and he was free of her…but not before she invited him inside.

"Are you sure you won't come in and let me warm you up a bit before you head off?" she asked a second time after he politely refused.

She made sure to squeeze her arms together so that her chest was propped up and seemingly bigger. This was accompanied by a coy move that effectively made her shirt slip a bit, revealing a hint of her bra.

Amuro tried not to show his disgust as, this time, he looked her straight in the eye and firmly insisted, "Yukimura-san, you're an attractive woman, but I'm not in the habit of 'warming myself up' with anyone I'm not desperately serious about. Good night."

"…Good night, Toru-san," she replied gracefully with a smile and a polite bow. She didn't let the string of obscenities leave her lips until her apartment door was securely shut behind her and he had already driven a block away.

…

Mikau: Well, I think this chapter was okay. Next chapter is jealous Amu-chan and guest appearances by Kaito and Conan, so look forward to that. I'll see you guys when I see you. Take care!


	6. The Admission and the Jealous Fit

Mikau: So I have the rest of this story tentatively mapped out, but I don't know when I'll get around to updating it again. I've got so much real life stuff going on that I haven't had time for leisure writing lately. I'm very fond of this story, though, and I really do hope I'll be able to keep working on it eventually. Thanks so much to everyone supporting me and this fic, and a special thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter: Kimmiko T, piggyninja (Haha. _**I**_ know that Akai truly loved Akemi, but do you really think Amu-chan knows/acknowledges that fact? Remember that the narration is influenced by the thoughts and feelings of the character the perspective is following, and Amuro doesn't have the full story of what went on, only his perception of it.), neonquincy1217, q, EverThePhantom, LittleFan, bourbon (Thanks, but at this point I have my own version of "Amuro" that I'm working with, so "canon" is of little importance to me. I never set out to write Gosho's "Amuro", only my own interpretation, so there's no point in looking for accuracy this far into the process. ^.^; Sorry.), Elizabeth, Bourbon, Rizuki Dhan, and Boogum (times five)!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd have more Organization revelations already. It's been so long, and I don't feel like we've come to understand much more about the Org than what we knew ten or twenty years ago.

…

Chapter Six: The Admission and the Jealous Fit

When Amuro reported for work the following afternoon, Misa (who was on second shift) looked incredibly smug.

"You're scaring me," he chuckled teasingly as he turned to put on his apron. "What? Did Kujiro finally propose?"

"There is no 'finally' about it," she snorted, popping a fresh batch of muffins into the oven. "He has his instructions about when and where and how he's supposed to propose. And I've already picked out the ring, and he's gradually paying it off. There's no 'finally', I'll have you know. We're right on schedule, thank you, Amu-chan. No. I'm grinning like a well-fed feline over _your_ love life, not mine."

Amuro paused to give her a skeptical look. " _My_ love life? _I_ wasn't aware of such a thing existing. I'm sorry, Mizutani-san, but I believe you're mistaken."

She rolled her eyes and gave him a solid slap on the back. "Azu-chan told me what you said after Satoko's little fainting spell last night…about how you don't like loose women and how Azusa-chan is precisely your type."

It took every ounce of his self-control to maintain a cool, unaffected countenance as he started preparing a venti caramel macchiato and two tall chai teas for table four. "That's _not_ how I said it, Mizutani-san, and saying it like _that_ really changes the meaning. What I actually said was—"

"—Azu-chan _told_ me what you actually said and how you said it," Misa cut him off, jumping in beside him and making the iced coffee and accompanying three milkshakes for their regulars at table one. "But we both know that the way that _I_ said it just now more accurately reflects how you really feel."

He grumbled under his breath as he reached around her for the whipped cream.

"…Misa-san, I'm not emotionally available at the moment. Please stop," he requested firmly as he turned to place the drinks on the counter so that they could go out.

She rolled her eyes and gave a snort of derision. "Bull—…Winkle," she revised mid-sentence, suddenly aware that she was at work with children at table seven in earshot. "You may think you're ' _not emotionally available_ '," she chided in a mocking tone. "But that doesn't change the fact that you like Azusa-chan. I see the way you look at her. I see the way her smile makes your knees all wobbly. Deny it all you like, Amu-chan, but you have a thing for her, regardless. It's laughably obvious to anyone who sees you together."

Amuro made a mental note to police his emotions more militantly, even when he didn't think anyone was watching. Clearly he'd been careless around Poirot if Misa had picked up on his little crush.

He sighed, going over to check on the muffins just to have something to do besides reply to Misa's accusations.

When he turned back, she was still staring him down, hands on her hips. And even though she was tiny compared to him, she exuded an intimidating amount of composure and control.

Amuro sighed and relinquished, "Fine. She's attractive. She's intelligent. She's intriguing. I'm interested, but I'm not able to be in a relationship right now, and even if I were, I'm not a good fit for her. I'm not a good person, and she deserves better. Go find her a nice beat cop or an EMT or something, okay? Leave me out of your schemes."

Misa smirked triumphantly. "I _knew_ you liked her."

Amuro could sense the teasing that would henceforth occur at every opportunity, and he was beginning to wish that he hadn't said anything. He gave a little humph and started on a pumpkin spice latte for the bookworm at table eight.

Misa leaned on the counter in her typical cleavage-exposing move as she snickered, "And you know, Amu-chan, only truly good men admit that they're lousy scoundrels, and that's proof that you're good enough for Azu-chan."

Amuro wanted to hit his head against the wall. He'd created a monster. He never should have admitted his feelings to that cunning busybody Misa of all people, and now he was going to regret it for months to come.

"But," she continued, taking him by surprise. "I can respect your feelings about not being ready for a relationship at this point and wanting me to find the very best candidate for Azusa-chan's future hubby. I'll lay off the romantic aspect a little, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop throwing you two together," she graciously laid out her plans for him. "Even if you don't want to be all lovey-dovey with her at the moment for whatever reason, that doesn't mean that you two can't be friends, right? Would you want to be friends with her? You two look like you enjoy hanging out, and you seem to have stuff in common."

He shifted uncomfortably. Being around Azusa was probably a bad idea. He needed to get away and meditate under a waterfall or something to get her out of his head…but what if he came back from his retreat, was re-exposed to her, and fell flat on his face for her all over again? What if his feelings only became stronger in his absence? Maybe it would be better to be around her, get used to her, and start to see her as only a friend? If he could inoculate himself to her…

"Look," Misa quietly confided when he didn't respond immediately. "You know as well as I do that Azusa is an amazing person. She's smart, cheerful, friendly, positive, thoughtful… She's a really sweet girl, and she deserves to be happy, but she just hasn't been given the opportunities. People think I don't notice or don't pay attention, but… Azusa didn't go to college, and she doesn't have any social life to speak of outside of the café. I mean, she's sort of maybe got her brother—she's mentioned him once or twice—and _we_ are all here to support her, but…no one here can do much for her because we're pretty much in the same boat."

Misa pursed her lips and looked down at the countertop. "I'm gonna be waiting tables for the rest of my life, and Kuro-chan's probably going be working in some kitchen or another. He might get on at some small company that no one's heard of later on in life when we start having kids, but that's pretty much it for us. I may work on some fashion stuff on the side, but all we'll ever be is working class. That's good enough for us, and I think we'll be pretty happy like that, but Azusa has ambition. She wants to own her own café someday, go into business for herself."

Misa gripped the hem of her apron in frustration as her voice momentarily failed her. "And I can't do anything to help her with that. I don't have any connections. I'm stuck in pretty much the same social sphere as she is, so…I can't do _anything_ for that awesome girl who's been the best friend I've ever had in all twenty-five years of my life. The only thing I can think of is try to set her up with a nice guy who I can depend on to be there for her, support her, and take care of her."

She looked up at him and asserted, "Amu-chan, there's more to you than you'd like people to think. You're not just a wandering barista working odd jobs to get by. I have no idea what's really up with you, but… I know you're scary smart. You know people, you go places. I mean…" She struggled to find the words to express her thoughts. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you're more worldly than the rest of us yokels that work here. You can introduce Azusa to your college buddies or maybe some influential people that you worked with on one of your detective jobs. You can talk to her about those huge, kill-a-man sized books she's always reading or politics or what's going on in the world."

Misa sighed as she admitted, "All I can do is talk about boys and fashion, and Azusa-chan needs more than that. She needs to hang out with people more on her own level like you, so don't freak out about whether you like her or you don't or you're emotionally unavailable or whatever. I'm just asking you to be her friend, okay? Because she could really use a friend that actually gets her…and maybe you could too…. So…okay?"

Amuro finally looked at her as she finished. "I'm sorry," he whispered, feeling slightly guilty.

Misa gave a start, blinking rapidly. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated louder, more firmly. "All this time I've taken you for a fickle, vain, bossy woman with only a handful of redeeming qualities, but…you're a truly loyal friend and a better person than I initially gave you credit for. I'm sorry."

Misa groaned and rolled her eyes. "Oh, is that all? Don't scare me. I thought you were gonna say you wouldn't be friends with Azu-chan even after I waxed poetic all over you. Geez…. And, for the record, I _am_ fickle, vain, and bossy. It's just that I'm a decent person and a hell as loyal friend on top of that."

"All right," he chuckled, knowing when he had been beat. Misa was too strong willed for him to go up against. "You win, Misa-san. And you're right; being around Azusa-san, making friends, would probably be good for me."

Misa gave a trill of success as she victory danced over to the oven to pull out the mini muffins. All the while she sang, "Misa is the win- _ner_. She is freakin' awe- _some_!"

Amuro sighed, shaking his head. Great. Now he'd gone and given her an even bigger ego. There would be no living with her now.

Fortunately, he wasn't afforded much time to reflect on his error, as, just then, Azusa came up to the counter and informed him, "Hey, I need a venti hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, a slice of chocolate mousse cake, and two double chocolate fudge muffins added onto table one when you get a sec."

Amuro felt a touch of diabetes coming on just at the sound of that order. Had Conan and his friends decided it would be fashionable to give themselves cavities?

Misa's ears perked up at Azusa's report, and she turned around with a big grin, standing on her tiptoes to look out at the crowd, searching. "Is Kai-chan here?"

"Yep," Azusa giggled.

Misa eyed her friend skeptically. "Did I hear you say _two_ muffins? He usually only gets one. He didn't bring a date with him today, did he?"

Azusa smiled as she reassure her friend, "No. He's by himself like usual, but he sat down with Conan-kun's group, and when he ordered, Genta-kun got all big-eyed and hungry looking, so Kai-chan ordered an extra muffin to share with the kids."

"What a man," Misa sighed, and then switched gears slightly. "Can I take his order out to him?" she pleaded with big, googly eyes.

Azusa pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to say 'no' but completely lacking the backbone to selfishly deny her friend. Instead of flat out refusing, she reminded, "Misa-chan, you got to last time. Shouldn't it be my turn? …Unless it means that much to you, I mean, but…won't Kujiro-kun get jealous?"

Misa deflated. "I guess you're right. I wouldn't want my Darling to get jealous."

Misa didn't get to mope long for just then one of the regular customers (one of a group of three cops that usually came in on Saturdays during break) called out to Azusa, tearing away Misa's audience.

Still, the little drama queen continued to lament her fate unattended until Amuro interrupted her.

"Who's 'Kai-chan'?" he broke in with a frown as he grabbed the muffins and the cake slice from the case.

Misa turned slowly and sneered, "See the hottie flirting with Conan-kun over at table one?"

Amuro looked and observed said "hottie"…currently poking at Conan's cheek and laughing heartily as the tiny detective blushed and grumbled. The teen was, as Misa said, physically attractive, but Amuro didn't really see what the big deal was.

"Yeah. So?" He waited expectantly as he started on the venti hot chocolate, extra whipped cream.

" _That's_ your competition," Misa announced with an obnoxious chuckle. "The enigmatically attractive, charmingly mysterious, and yet heartwarmingly earnest younger man. Dun, dun, dun!"

He gave her a bland look. "You sound like the back of a dollar store smut novel."

She glared. "I _like_ those."

He wasn't even remotely surprised. "Of course you do. Carry on?"

She cleared her throat and smoothed her apron, arranging herself so that she looked much bigger than her four and a half feet. "Kai-chan is your competition for Azusa-chan's heart."

Amuro continued to look unimpressed. "I thought we were going to stop with the trying to push Azusa-san and me together."

Misa shrugged in a manner that suggested he shouldn't dwell on the little details. "I may have lied," she informed. "I promise to _try_ to tone it down, but…this is just such a great opportunity to make you jealous, and Kai-chan never seems to come in during your shifts, so…"

Amuro's "unimpressed" expression eroded into outright displeasure. "You're trying to make me jealous of a high schooler?"

"Is it working?" Misa asked hopefully, batting her eyes.

He frowned in response.

"Not even a little?" She forced a smile.

Amuro frowned harder. "Mizutani-san, that is a child. I'm nearly thirty; what kind of man would I be if I, for an instant, wasted my time being jealous over a child?"

"A man in love?" she laughed weakly. Her smile was fading fast. "Well, Kai-chan may be young, but he's past puberty, and I'm pretty sure he can figure out how to please a woman, and that's the important part. Besides, I think it's kind of intriguing, a younger man fighting desperately to win the attentions of a more mature woman, so…"

Amuro's expression remained unchanged at her extrapolations.

She frowned, commanding, "Just watch, okay?" Misa gathered Kaito's order and put it on a tray on the counter. "Azu-chan! Order up!"

Grateful for some actual work to do as an excuse to tear herself away from her squad of cop admirers, Azusa sprang into action, taking the tray and mouthing a much-felt "Thank you" to Misa.

"Just don't drop it this time," Misa snickered, reminding her friend of the milk shake spill of not a full week ago.

"Oh, you," Azusa reproved as her cheeks took on a cute, cinnamon tint.

Misa smirked as she and Amuro watched Azusa go over to table one—the booth by the window.

Azusa smiled as she set down the drink and the sweets…smiled mostly at this "Kaito" whelp. And he beamed right back at her, touching her arm as he thanked her and told her how pretty she looked today.

Azusa blushed and shook her head, trying to decline the compliment.

No, Kaito insisted, leaning in and lightly stroking the end of her ponytail. Her hair looked super cute today done up like that. It always looked so silky and soft, but today… He really liked how the pony tail showed off her cute ears.

And before Amuro could really comprehend the words he was reading off of the teen's lips, Azusa was blushing madly, pleased at the attentions, and Kaito was actually _touching_ Azusa's ear!

Kaito pulled a blush pink rose out of nowhere and handed it to Azusa, spoon-feeding her that old line about how the rose's beauty couldn't compare to her own, but…

Furuya Rei had a list. It wasn't a very long list seeing as how people who had formerly been on it were now deceased, but…that Kaito guy was now on the list.

"Jealous now?" Misa snickered. She could have no idea of the dangerous beast she had just unleashed…until she caught a look at his face. "Whoa. Amu-chan, you're gonna scare the customers. Seriously. Calm down. You look like you're gonna kill somebody."

"I am," he let slip softly before he regained his composure enough to add, "calm. I _am_ calm."

"Could have fooled me," Misa muttered with a shiver, thinking that she'd best undo her efforts before they had undesirable consequences for Kai-chan. "But, hey. Look. There's no reason to be jealous. Kai-chan's not serious about Azusa. I was just egging you on before about him being your rival. I mean, Kai-chan's a natural flirt. He really does act like that with everyone, not just her, so there's no need to challenge him to a duel or anything…or whatever you were thinking about with that scary look on your face. Besides, I think he's sworn off women since the girl he loved rejected him. He's practically gay now. In fact, I heard a rumor that Kai-chan's going to be Conan-kun's bride when Conan-kun grows up, so…"

Misa pursed her lips seeing that her assurances were having little effect on improving Amuro's mood. "I'll be right back," she informed, stepping out from behind the counter and going over to where Azusa was still chatting with Kaito and the kids.

Misa lightly rested her hand on Azusa's shoulder and leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

Amuro couldn't tell what it was due to Misa's hair getting in the way of her lips, but whatever she had said, it caused Azusa to blink, whisper a quiet "Oh" of surprise, and head over to table three where her three cop groupies were seated.

Misa next turned to Kaito (who greeted her warmly, enthusiastically, and flirtatiously, giving her much the same treatment as Azusa accepting that the rose Misa received was sunburnt orange instead of pink) and whispered, "See that guy at the counter? He likes Azusa-chan, and my boyfriend told me last night that he's some kind of ninja or something, so you probably shouldn't flirt so much with Azu-chan in front of him, Kai-chan. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Kaito looked up in surprise, and violet eyes met steely grey.

All of the color left Kaito's face as he stared in terrified recognition at Amuro…which was strange because Amuro didn't recognize Kaito. At all.

Still, the teen stared in horror like a mouse just realizing it was caught in the sights of a merciless viper.

Kaito whispered a quick thanks to Misa before placing a shaking hand on top of Conan's next to him. He leaned in so that his lips almost brushed Conan's ear, and in a voice no one else could hope to hear, he hurriedly demanded, "Look at the guy at the counter, but don't let him see you. It's one of _them_ —that Bourbon guy from the train."

Conan looked surprised for a minute before he glanced up at Amuro, chuckled softly in amusement, and waved to the barista.

Amuro frowned but returned the greeting in kind. Just who the hell was this Kaito person to know " _them_ " and "Bourbon"? From the _train_ , he'd said? Yes. This Kaito was definitely on the list…if not to be killed, then to be watched closely.

"What are you doing?!" Kaito hissed to Conan, almost loud enough for Amuro to hear without reading his lips.

Conan just laughed and replied. "That's Amuro Toru. I told you about him, remember? He's a friend."

Kaito looked at the smaller boy in disbelief. "You have a very strange assortment of friends."

"Yeah. Yourself included," Conan sighed, a migraine coming on.

"…I think that's the first time you've actually admitted that you consider me a friend," Kaito hummed, face glowing.

"Is it too late to take it back?" Conan wondered with a grimace.

"Yep," Kaito sang happily. "Before you know it, you'll be accepting my love and asking me to marry you!"

Conan was speechless for a moment before deciding to reply, "You do realize that he's probably reading our lips and thinking you're a weird pedophile, right?"

Now it was Kaito's turn to pause and look displeased. He directed his attention back to Amuro and mouthed, "Just so you know, Mr. Ninja, it's rude to eavesdrop on private conversations, and I'm not actually a pedophile." Kaito pointed to Conan. "This guy may look like a child, but he's got the mind of a forty year-old man. If one of us is a cradle-robber, it's _him_ , not me."

Amuro had to laugh at this despite his intense desire of minutes before to brutally murder the teen. "Don't worry. I know he is," Amuro mouthed back. "And if you would stop putting the moves on Azusa-san, I wouldn't have to eavesdrop."

"Sorry." Kaito bowed humbly in penance. "Wasn't aware she was spoken for. Won't happen again, Sir."

And it was then that Azusa herself bounced up to the counter with a sigh. "Hey." She frowned uncertainly. "Were you…talking to someone?"

"The voices in my head," he informed her. "I've told you before that I'm insane, haven't I?"

She chuckled at this, nose scrunching up in a cute little expression that he wished he could catch on film to replay whenever the whim struck him at a later date.

"You're funny," she laughed, smiling innocently, never guessing that not ten minutes before he'd been plotting murder for her sake.

"I'm glad _you_ think so," he hummed, taking the opportunity to sneak a glance at the ears Kaito had been complimenting before…caressing…

A flash of jealousy welled up within him, and, before he could stop himself, he reached out and skimmed his fingers over her ear.

Her eyes widened, and her face flushed, mouth dropping open slightly.

"S-Sorry," he apologized immediately, averting his eyes and stepping back. "There was a piece of fuzz in your hair. It looks nice, by the way… Your hair, I mean…up like that."

"O-Oh." She gulped, the smile returning as she chuckled nervously. "T-Thank you. Sorry. Thank you…. Um…when were you going on your break? I-I know you just got in not too long ago, but…"

He bit his lip. "Actually…" He made a decision. "I think I'm going to head home. I'm suddenly not feeling well, so I probably shouldn't be around food."

"Oh!" Her eyes widened in concern, and she leaned in closer, touching the back of her palm to his forehead. "You do feel a little warm."

He grimaced, reluctantly pulling back, making a show of taking off his apron. "Do you think you'll be all right here until Yukimura-san comes in in an hour? I'm really sorry to leave you short-staffed during the lunch hour."

"It's fine," she assured. "Please. Take care of yourself. I hope you feel better soon, okay?"

"Thank you." He spared her a smile as he turned to go, but it came out looking bittersweet and oddly conflicted. "Just tell the Master not to bother paying me for today."

He had to get away from her, get her out of his head.

Because this just wasn't working, and someone was going to end up dead over it.


End file.
